Ru/H-beta as an efficient catalyst for the conversion of furfural into 3-acetyl-1-propanol (3-AP) toward one-pot transformation of xylan to 3-AP

A highly active and robust catalyst composed of Ru nanoparticles highly dispersed on zeolite H-beta was developed for transforming furfural into 3-acetyl-1-propanol (3-AP) in good yield (81%)under mild conditions (80 °C, 1 MPa H 2 ). Both the support nature and the preparation methods had significant impacts on the dispersion of Ru, eventually on the yield of 3-AP. Ion-exchange method proved best for obtaining the highly active and selective catalyst for this reaction. Moreover, the catalyst can be regenerated easily by calcination and reduction. This catalyst was further explored for the one-pot conversion of xylose and xylan to 3-AP with a yield of 46% and 31%, respectively, thus opening a new feasible pathway from biomass to valuable fine chemicals.