Efficient hydrogenation of furfural to fufuryl alcohol over hierarchical MOF immobilized metal catalysts

Abstract Transformation of furfural, a typical biomass-derived robust platform molecule, into value-added chemical furfuryl alcohol has drawn intense attention. The conventional supported catalysts which are restricted in the microporous regime suffered from high mass diffusion resistances and limited catalytic activity. We herein demonstrate the synthesis of a series of transition-metal catalysts by using hierarchical porous H-UiO-66 as the support for highly efficient conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol. The unique nanoarchitecture endows the catalyst with low mass diffusion resistance, high accessibility of metal active sites and high durability in the liquid phase reaction. A nearly quantitate yield of furfuryl alcohol was achieved over the Pd/H-UiO-66 catalyst at 60 °C, 0.5 MPa H2 in the aqueous medium within 3 h.