Selective hydrogenation of furfural to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol in isopropanol over hydrotalcite-derived nickel-based catalyst

A series of hydrotalcite-derived nickel-based catalysts were synthesized by coprecipitation, drying, calcination and reduction, and used for the selective hydrogenation of furfural to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. Ni1Zr1Al2-R, with specific surface area (S-BET) of 145.6 m(2), narrow pore size distribution of 7.1 nm, and small Ni-0 particle size of 7.31 nm, showed 100 % furfural conversion and 94.5 % tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol selectivity under mild conditions (140 degrees C, 2 h). It was found that furfural was first hydrogenated to furfuryl alcohol, which was further hydrogenated to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. XRD and TEM showed that Ni-0 (1 1 1) plane played an important role on the catalytic hydrogenation process. Al increased the specific surface area (S-BET) and total acid sites of the catalyst, providing more possibilities for the catalyst to contact the substrate. The introduction of Zr improved the ratio of medium acid sites and decreased the size of metal nickel particles, improving the resistance to carbon deposition and allowing the structure and catalytic performance to remain stable after five recycles.