Efficient Catalytic Hydrogenation of Butyl Levulinate to γ-Valerolactone over a Stable and Magnetic CuNiCoB Amorphous Alloy Catalyst

A series of low-cost, magnetic, and high-efficiency CuNiCoB amorphous alloy catalysts were developed by the chemical reduction method for selective hydrogenation of butyl levulinate (BL) to gamma-valerolactone (GVL). The catalysts were characterized by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and hydrogen temperature-programmed desorption techniques. The results indicated that the CuNiCoB amorphous alloy nanosheets with well-dispersed Cu nanoparticles played an important role in enhancing the hydrogenation activity. The reaction temperature, pressure, time, and substrate concentration were optimized. The maximum GVL yield of 89.5% with BL conversion of 99.7% was achieved over the best Cu0.5Ni1Co3B catalyst using 3 wt % dosage relative to BL at 473 K under 3.0 MPa H-2 after 3 h. The considerable stability of Cu0.5Ni1Co3B during catalytic recovery and reuse experiments (5 cycles) was exhibited as a result of the transformation of CuNiCoB amorphous alloy active sites to a Cu-Ni-Co ternary alloy. The stable and magnetic catalyst was demonstrated to be a promising candidate to produce more value-added compounds from biomass-derived raw materials.