Active metal dependent side reactions for the reductive amination of furfural

In addition to the main reaction, understanding the structure-activity relationship in the side reactions is another important goal for catalysis science. In this work, the catalytic activities and selectivities of various active metals were studied in the reductive amination of furfural (FAL). Compared with Co- and Ni-based catalysts, the excessive hydrogen of furfurylamine (FAM) was found over Ru-based catalysts at much higher reaction temperature (130 vs. 50 °C). Moreover, the evaluation of FAM hydrogenation undoubtedly substantiated the intimate relationship between H2 reaction pressure and catalytic activity. Combining the theoretical and experimental results, it is clearly verified that the active metal determines the excessive hydrogen of FAM by affecting the competitive adsorption of FAM and H on the active sites.