Selective hydrogenolysis of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol to 1,5-pentanediol over PrOx promoted Ni catalysts

Catalytic conversion of furfural and its derivatives to value-added C5 molecules has attractive much attention in the field of biomass conversion. In this paper, the selective hydrogenolysis of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol to 1,5-pentanediol has been studied over a series of PrOx promoted Ni/Al2O3 catalysts. The catalytic performances and the promoting effects of PrOx, as well as the role of Ni and PrOx species have been discussed. The surface properties and structure of catalysts were examined by TEM, XRD, XPS, H2-TPR, H2-TPD, in-situ DRIFTS, etc. The presence of PrOx species promotes the reaction rate and changes product selectivity significantly, and a 79.2% 1,5-pentanediol selectivity can be obtained at 88.4% conversion over the NiPr1.2/Al2O3 catalyst. The synergistic effect between defect-rich PrOx and the adjacent active Ni species has been confirmed to contribute to the superior catalytic performances. These results provide useful knowledge for the activation of cyclic ether bonds and the design of heterogeneous catalysts with lanthanide oxide supports.