Efficient one-pot conversion of furfural into 2-methyltetrahydrofuran using non-precious metal catalysts

• Published in: Molecular catalysis Vol. 490; p. 110951
• Main Authors: Liu, Ping, Sun, Luyang, Jia, Xinxin, Zhang, Chen, Zhang, Wei, Song, Yongji, Wang, Hong, Li, Cuiqing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.07.2020
• Subjects: 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran; Furfural; Hydrogenation; Non-precious metal; 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran; Furfural; Non-precious metal; Hydrogenation
• ISSN: 2468-8231; 2468-8231
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mcat.2020.110951

[Display omitted] •One-pot conversion of furfural into 2-methyltetrahydrofuran is achieved.•87 % yield of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran is obtained with non-precious metals.•Lewis acid sites are crucial for furfural hydrodeoxygenation to 2-methylfuran. 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, a biomass-derived chemical, is an important solvent with broad applications in organic chemistry. In this study, one-pot conversion of furfural into 2-methyltetrahydrofuran over non-precious metal catalysts was achieved by two-stage packing in a single reactor. The first stage converted furfural into 2-methylfuran over Co-based catalysts, and the second stage converted 2-methylfuran into 2-methyltetrahydrofuran over Ni-based catalysts. In order to reveal the reaction pathway and mechanism of this process, the hydrogenation reactions of 2-methylfuran, furfuryl alcohol, and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol were also carefully investigated. It is discovered that the conversion of furfural into 2-methylfuran could be catalyzed by Lewis acid sites, which was confirmed by a correlation between 2-methylfuran production rate and Lewis acid site density. Also, a mechanism on the direct conversion of furfural into 2-methylfuran without forming furfuryl alcohol as the intermediate is proposed. The experimental results of 2-methylfuran, furfuryl alcohol, and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol hydrogenation/hydrodeoxygenation over various catalysts provided valuable information on the future design of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran catalyst.