“Less is more”: Selective hydrogenation of furfural, a key biomass-derived platform molecule, leads to the synthesis of one of the industrially important chemicals—furfuryl alcohol. In this research, the catalyst of Pd nanoparticles supported on a ternary mixed oxide was developed. The hydrogenation reaction proceeds efficiently under mild conditions—balloon H₂ pressure and 40 °C, which highlights the catalyst's potential for advancing in biomass-derived chemical transformations.

Abstract

We report palladium (Pd) supported on a mixed CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst for the synthesis of furfuryl alcohol (FA) from furfural (FF) using hydrogen under near atmospheric pressure (balloon pressure) conditions. A systematic study of various metal oxide combinations revealed that the best support for Pd nanoparticles is a CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ mixed system, which results in excellent catalytic performance. A series of control experiments highlighted the essential role of mixed Cu-Zn-Al oxide support in facilitating the adsorption and activation of FF. Our results demonstrate that under optimal conditions (40 °C, balloon pressure H₂), the catalyst yields FF conversion exceeding 98%, with remarkable selectivity for FA reaching up to 99% with water as solvent. The catalyst exhibited almost comparable activity up to three catalytic cycles without extra catalyst treatment or reactivation with negligible Pd leaching. These findings shed insight into the design of mixed metal oxide-based support for active metal interactions in optimizing catalytic performance in furfural hydrogenation under mild conditions.