Synthesis of 1-hexanol by highly selective hydrodeoxygenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural using Ni/MCM-41 and Pt-WOX/t-ZrO2

Metal-metal oxide catalysts are robust in selective hydrodeoxygenation of biomass derives. Herein, 1-hexanol in total yield about 76 % is firstly achieved by high selective hydrodeoxygenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over Ni/MCM-41 and Pt-WOX/t-ZrO2. By controlling the amount ratio of Ni/Ni2+ to 0.46, a 99.9 % yield of 2,5-tetrahydrofurandimethanol was achieved from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural by Ni/MCM-41. Subsequently high yield of 76 % of 1-hexanol was obtained by competing pathways of tandem reactions beginning at SN2 reaction at the epoxy atom of 2,5-tetrahydrofurandimethanol to enol/tautomer intermediates and ending with controllable selective hydrogenation. The reaction mechanism is explored and the reaction-oriented regulation is realized by the additional strong BrÖnsted acid sites generated by electron transfer from W to Pt and the appropriate amount of Pt0 sites of Pt-WOX/t-ZrO2, where the ratios of W5+/W6+ and Pt0/Pt2+ are 0.31 and 4.58 respectively. This work provides a new and green method for the synthesis of 1-hexanol and expands the utilization of metal–metal oxide in making value-added products using sustainable feedstocks.