Adsorption Configuration-Determined Selective Hydrogenative Ring Opening and Ring Rearrangement of Furfural over Metal Phosphate

Developing an economic catalyst to upgrade furfural to alcohols (such as linear alcohol and cyclopentanol) is highly significant for fine chemical synthesis and biomass utilization. Here, a class of metal phosphate nanoparticles (such as CoP, Co2P, and Ni2P) with different metal compositions and topological structures is synthesized. The acidity and hydrogen activation ability were well adjusted according to the types. An 80.2% yield of 1,2,5-pentanetriol was reported for the first time via a hydrogenative ring-opening route over CoP, whereas Ni2P shows a high catalytic efficiency for cyclopentanol with a 62.8% yield via a hydrogenative ring-rearrangement route. Based on the catalytic performance of Pd/C and the result of attenuated total reflectance–infrared spectroscopy, the route difference is derived from the adsorption configuration of furfural on the catalyst. After loading on the insert support, the metal phosphate/support catalysts show high activity and stability during the recycling experiments. This work provides an effective strategy to regulate the reaction path through an adsorption mechanism and shows the precise synergistic effect of hydrogenation and acid catalysis.