Hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over efficient sol-gel nickel-copper/zirconia catalyst

Furfuryl alcohol (FA), a valuable compound from furfural (FF) was synthesized by efficient Ni-Cu/ZrO2 catalysts. The catalysts with varying Ni and Cu loading were developed by sol-gel method and characterized by Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) method, X-ray diffraction, Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. Cu/ZrO2 and Ni/ZrO2 catalysts were also tested to compare the effect of the Ni-Cu/ZrO2 catalyst. Both Ni and Cu showed the synergistic effect on FA formation. The Ni-Cu/ZrO2 catalyst was used for hydrogenation of FF by changing pressure, catalyst loading, temperature and time. A 93% FA yield was achieved over the 7Ni-Cu/ZrO2 catalyst with 0.07 g Ni and 0.1 g Cu/1 g ZrO2 at 200 degrees C for 4 h under 1.5 MPa H-2 pressure. The sol-gel Ni-Cu/ZrO2 catalyst without the use of expensive noble metals is effective on the hydrogenation of FF to FA relatively in mildly reaction pressure. Graphic abstract The Ni-Cu/ZrO2 catalyst was used for hydrogenation of FF by changing pressure, catalyst loading, temperature and time. A 93% FA yield was achieved over the 7Ni-Cu/ZrO2 catalyst with 0.07 g Ni and 0.1 g Cu/1 g ZrO2 at 200 degrees C for 4 h under 1.5 MPa H-2 pressure. The sol-gel Ni-Cu/ZrO2 catalyst without the use of expensive noble metals is effective on the hydrogenation of FF to FA relatively in mildly reaction pressure.