In-situ carbon-encapsulated Ni2P@C catalysts for reductive amination of furfural

The development of efficient non-noble metal catalysts for synthesizing amine derived from furfural has attracted attentions. Herein, a series of carbon-encapsulated nickel phosphide catalysts Ni2P@C-T were prepared using a facile pyrolysis strategy at different reduction temperatures by employing phytic acid as phosphorus and carbon source. The effects of reduction temperature on the particle size, exposed crystal faces and electronic property, as well as the catalytic performance of the Ni2P@C-T in the reductive amination of furfural were investigated. Higher Niδ+ content and appropriate acidity were beneficial to improve the catalytic performance of Ni2P@C-T, the selectivity of N-butyl furfurylamine over the Ni2P@C-700 catalyst reached 85.0 % at the furfural conversion of 100 % under optimal reaction conditions of 170 °C, 1.4 MPa H2 and 2 h. The stability experiment showed that the Ni2P@C-700 catalyst maintained high catalytic activity and selectivity after 6 cycles.