Synergy of oxygen vacancies and hydroxyl group for catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol on Zr(OH)4/Fe3O4

Construction of highly efficient catalysts is crucial for the catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) of bio-based carbonyls to valuable chemicals and fuels. Herein, we successfully synthesized a series of uniformly dispersed Zr(OH) 4 -Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles with the regulation of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), which exhibited exceptional activity for the CTH of furfural (FAL) into furfuryl alcohol (FOL). Systematic characterizations revealed that SDBS effectively modified the interaction between Fe 3 O 4 and Zr(OH) 4 , thereby enhancing Lewis acidity by facilitating the construction of electron-deficient zirconium sites. Meanwhile, the presence of oxygen vacancies and surface hydroxyl groups in Zr(OH) 4 -Fe 3 O 4 -SDBS facilitated the adsorption and activation of both substrate and hydrogen donor. Thanks to these synergistic effects, a complete conversion of FAL with an impressive selectivity towards FOL was achieved, with a remarkable turn-over frequency value reaching as high as 42.5 h −1 . Encouragingly, Zr(OH) 4 -Fe 3 O 4 -SDBS also demonstrated its universality in the CTH of carbonyl compounds by exhibiting remarkable separation capability while maintaining its activity and structure after being reused for 11 cycles without significant changes.