Selective hydrogenolysis of furfural to 1,2-pentanediol over a Pt–Fe/MT catalyst under mild conditions

Abstract

Furfural is a large-volume and widely available biomass-derived platform compound, and its transformation into valuable pentanediols is important for the sustainable production of bio-based polymers. Herein, we report a new catalyst system composed of Pt–Fe bimetallic nanoparticles highly dispersed on a commercial magnesium titanate (MT) support. HAADF-STEM, CO-DRIFTS and XPS characterization studies revealed that Pt was in the metallic state with a particle size of 1–2 nm, while Fe existed as Fe²⁺ and was decorated on the Pt particles. The electron transfer from Fe to Pt weakened the hydrogenation activity of the furan ring and meanwhile promoted selective ring-opening to 1,2-pentanediol (1,2-PeD). Reaction kinetics studies revealed the reaction rate with respect to hydrogen pressure was close to zero order, which allowed the reaction to proceed at a hydrogen pressure as low as 0.1 MPa. Under mild conditions of 140 °C and 0.1 MPa, the 0.1Pt0.05Fe/MT catalyst offered by far the highest production rate of 178 mol 1,2-PeD per mol Pt per hour, and the Pt–Fe bimetallic catalyst was stable during 200 h of time-on-stream, showing great potential for practical applications.