Selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over Pd/TiH2 catalyst

In this work, the selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol has been studied over Pd/TiH2 catalysts. The catalytic performances of several catalysts with different Pd loading (0.2–3% in weight) were discussed, among which a higher selectivity to furfuryl alcohol was obtained over 0.5Pd/TiH2 and it gave rise to a 73% furfural alcohol selectivity at complete conversion at 60 °C. The physicochemical properties of catalysts were well characterized by TEM, XRD, XPS, Raman, TPR and TPD, as well as in-situ DRIFT for the adsorption of the reactant. The size and the electronic state of Pd particles, and the surface defects of catalysts presented significant influence on the catalytic performance. The furfural is preferentially adsorbed with its C=O bond on the boundary of Pd particle and TiH2 support, leading to the high selectivity to furfuryl alcohol.