The Key Role of Frustrated Lewis Pairs for Selective Hydrogenolysis of Furfuryl Alcohol

1,2-pentanediol(1,2-PeD), as a high-value-added fine chemical, is highly prone to be prepared by selective hydrogenolysis of furfuryl alcohol (FOL). However, the commonly used single reducible metal oxide or alkaline metal oxide carriers have poor interface controllability, limiting the selective cleavage of C–O bonds. To address this challenge, this paper innovatively designed a cerium-magnesium composite oxide and prepared Pt/CeMgO 2-x catalysts for the hydrogenolysis of FOL. The highest selectivity to 1,2-PeD reaching 69% at fully conversion was obtained. Characterizations confirmed that the cerium-magnesium solid solution structure formed by magnesium doping promotes the reduction of platinum species. Furthermore, the construction of frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) between Ce 3+ (Lewis acid sites) near oxygen vacancies and surface –OH groups (Lewis base sites) facilitated the selective cleavage of the C–O bond in the furan ring. This work provides a novel strategy for regulating C–O bond hydrogenolysis in heterogeneous catalysis via FLPs engineering, offering insights for valorizing biomass-derived compounds. Graphical The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.