Fe-Ni bimetallic nanoparticles encapsulated into nanofibrous carbon microspheres as a catalytic nanoreactor for highly selective hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-dihydroxymethylfuran or 2,5-dihydroxymethyltetrahydrofuran

The highly efficient conversion of renewable biomass-derived platform compounds to high value-added chemicals is one of the most promising solution to the current rapid consumption of fossil resources. Nanofibrous and porous carbon microspheres (NPCMs) were developed from chitin biomass and used to encapsulate Fe-Ni bimetallic nanoparticles for the formation of a novel catalytic nanoreactor (Fe-Ni/NPCMs), which was then used for the selective hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-dihydroxymethylfuran (DHMF) or 2,5-dihydroxymethyltetrahydrofuran (DHMTHF). The NPCMs consisted of N-doped carbon nanofibers with a high surface area. The Fe-Ni bimetallic nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the carbon nanofiber surfaces of the Fe-Ni/NPCMs, resulting in abundant catalytic sites and excellent catalytic performance. Importantly, the Fe-Ni/NPCMs showed highly-selective hydrogenation of HMF to DHMF or DHMTHF with high yields of 93.6% or 94.9% through simply modulating the reaction conditions. Increasing the zero valent iron (Fe0) content in the Fe-Ni/NPCMs significantly promoted the DHMTH selectivity from HMF hydrogenation. Moreover, the Fe-Ni/NPCMs presented high stability and recyclability, and thus they are applicable to other biomass conversions. Therefore, Fe-Ni/NPCMs have promising industrial application in the production of high value-added chemicals from biomass-derived feed-stocks.