Highly efficient NiCu@CT catalyst for mild, selective, and continuous-flow upgrading of vanillin to vanillyl alcohol

The selective hydrogenation of vanillin to vanillyl alcohol is a promising route for the high-value upgrading of biomass-derived platform molecules. Vanillyl alcohol is a key intermediate used in pharmaceuticals, flavors, fragrances, and fine chemicals, offering both economic and sustainability benefits. In this work, we developed a non-noble-metal NiCu bimetallic catalyst supported on N/O-doped biomass-derived carbon by modifying a conventional chitin-based preparation protocol. The improved method ensured the formation of accessible NiCu-related domains, thereby markedly enhancing hydrogenation performance. In a continuous-flow reactor, the resulting NiCu@CT catalyst achieved 99.4% conversion and 98.0% selectivity to vanillyl alcohol. Overall, this work provides an efficient and scalable strategy for the continuous, high-value conversion of vanillin.