Selective furfural hydrogenolysis towards 2-methylfuran by controlled poisoning of Cu–Co catalysts with chlorine

Abstract

The selective hydrogenolysis of C–OH bond without the hydrogenation of the furan ring is an important step in the valorization of relevant biomass-derived platform chemicals. Herein, we show that in the presence of surface chlorine furfural and furfuryl alcohol adsorption modes on cobalt change from flat to tilted, which inhibits the formation of furan ring hydrogenation products and promotes 2-methylfuran. It is possible to tune the amount of surface chlorine by adjusting the concentration of HCl during the synthesis of the Cu–Co catalysts. An excess of chlorine is detrimental due to a decrease in the Cu–Co interactions and in the hydrogen spillover. Under optimized conditions, 94% 2-methylfuran yield and productivities near 18 mol_2MF kg_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹ were obtained.