Construction of core–shell Co@CuCo/Al2O3 catalyst to boost the low‐temperature hydrogenation of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural

Abstract Reducing catalyst costs and reaction energy consumption is a potent way to advance biorefinery energy from fundamental research to industrial implementation. Herein, we developed a series of low‐cost CuCo/Al 2 O 3 catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural to biofuel 2,5‐dimethylfuran (DMF). Combined characterizations showed CuCo alloy and Co@CuCo core–shell structures were successfully constructed by reducing layered double hydroxides (LDHs) at different temperatures. Detailed catalytic performance studies found that Co@CuCo catalyst achieved a decent DMF yield of 91.7% under 130°C and 1 MPa H 2 , which is milder than most literatures. While the CuCo alloy catalyst only gave 23.2% yield. H 2 ‐TPD and in situ ‐IR indicated the CuCo‐alloy shell can prevent oxidation of Co core, so that maintain its high H 2 dissociation capacity. Moreover, the electronic structure changes in the Cu–Co alloy promote the hydrolysis of CO bond. Hence, the local atomic arrangement and corresponding electronic structure in the Co@CuCo structure jointly strengthened the low‐temperature reactivity.