Efficient Synthesis of Furfuryl Alcohol and 2‐Methylfuran from Furfural over Mineral‐Derived Cu/ZnO Catalysts

Abstract Two kinds of typical mineral‐derived Cu/ZnO catalysts consisting of aurichalcite and zincian malachite were introduced for furfural hydrogenation to furfuryl alcohol (FOL) and 2‐methylfuran (2‐MF) in a fixed‐bed reactor. Under proper reaction conditions, high yields of FOL (above 99 %) and 2‐MF (94.5 %) could be obtained over the aurichalcite Cu/ZnO catalyst (AC‐CZ), whereas the best yield of 2‐MF was only 76.9 % (0.5 h −1 ) over the zincian malachite Cu/ZnO catalyst (ZM‐CZ). The normalized productivity of 2‐MF was 43.5 mol kg Cu −1 h −1 and 17.4 mol kg Cu −1 h −1 for AC‐CZ and ZM‐CZ, respectively (LHSV=1.5 h −1 ). The catalysts were characterized by XRD analysis, Raman spectra, CO IR spectroscopy, H 2 temperature‐programmed reduction, N 2 O titration, NH 3 temperature‐programmed desorption, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The far better performance of AC‐CZ in furfural hydrogenation was ascribed to its higher dispersion of copper species, superior copper surface area, better surface acidity distribution, and stronger Cu 0 –ZnO synergy. In addition, the surface acidity of the catalysts seemed to have a higher influence on 2‐MF production than the Cu surface area, but the optimal balance of both factors still needs to be investigated systematically.