The Support and Bimetallic Synergy Effects in Cu-Ni/SiO2 Catalysts for Hydrogenation of Furfural

Herein, a series of Cu, Ni catalysts were synthesized using mesoporous SiO2 (MCM-41) and fumed SiO2 as supports for the catalytic hydrogenation of furfural (FF). The MCM-41 support facilitated the high dispersion of Cu, Ni nanoparticles (NPs), and the hydrogenation products are primarily in the form of alcohols. For fumed SiO2, the proper amounts of acid sites contributed to the better selectivity of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran(2-MTHF). Hydrogenation results showed that the 10Cu10Ni/MCM-41 catalyst afforded a 93.6 % yield of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA), while the 10Cu10Ni/SiO2 catalyst afforded a 61.73 % yield of 2-MTHF and a 31.63 % yield of THFA. Meanwhile, it is also found that impregnating nickel salt before copper salt is more likely to promote the formation of deep hydrogenation products. Cyclic experiments indicate that developing a one-step hydrogenation process with selective production of fully hydrogenated products is still a daunting and challenging task.