Hydrophobic Hollow-Structured nanocatalyst for Aqueous-Phase selective hydrogenation of Furfural: “H2 storage and Supercharging” effect

Aqueous-phase hydrogenation of furfural (FFR) to furfuryl alcohol (FOL) has environmental advantages and industrial application potential. However, the diverse hydrogenation pathways and the extremely low solubility of H2 in water limit the hydrogenation performance. Herein, a hollow-structured SiO2-supported NiCu nanocatalyst was prepared and modified with organosilane. The NiCu alloy effectively improves the selectivity of FOL. The formation of microbubbles and “H2 storage and supercharging” inside the microbubbles and hollow structures as a result of the hydrophobic modification significantly increases the H2 pressure. This unique gas–liquid-solid three-phase interface makes H2 more fully contact the active sites, and thus improves the aqueous-phase hydrogenation activity. Besides, an excellent catalytic stability is shown due to the close contact between the metals and SiO2 derived from the same precursor. This work provides a direction for the manufacture of highly efficient metal nanocatalysts for gas–liquid-solid three-phase reactions, and has latent industrial application in the field of aqueous-phase catalytic conversion of biomass.