The conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol with high yield via catalytic hydrogenation transfer in the presence of nickel-embedded alumina catalyst derived from metal-organic framework template
(2026) Catalysis Today — Vol. 476, p. 115883 (2026)
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- Authors
Biswas, Prakash 
- Abstract
- In this study, a new nickel catalyst supported on alumina derived from MOF (MOF A520) precursor was developed for the selective conversion of furfural (FFR) to furfuryl alcohol (FAL) via catalytic hydrogenation transfer (CHT) from the solvent. The xNi/Al520 (x = 5–15 wt.%) catalyst was synthesized by impregnation techniques and characterized by various methods, including N2 adsorption-desorption, temperature programmed reduction (TPR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The catalyst characterization demonstrated a very high surface area after calcination (> 100 m2/g), small Ni crystallite size (≤ 11 nm), and better Ni metal dispersion over the MOF. Further, the activity of the series of nickel catalysts was evaluated in a stainless-steel autoclave reactor at different temperatures (160–240 °C), reaction times (3–7 h), Ni loading (5–15 wt.%), and catalyst amount (0.4–1 g). For each experiment, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) was used as a solvent, which also served as a hydrogen donor. The experimental results demonstrated that FAL was the only detectable product, corresponding to ∼100% selectivity within the detection limit of the analytical technique used. A maximum FAL yield of ∼91% was achieved in the presence of a 5Ni/Al520 catalyst at an FFR conversion of ∼92% at 220 °C after 6 h. The catalyst recycling study depicted that the 5Ni/Al520 catalyst was very stable even after successive recycling runs and demonstrated a consistent FAL selectivity of ∼100%. Experimental findings depicted that CHT was preferred due to the selectivity toward reducing the carbonyl group rather than the ring of furfural, which resulted in higher FAL yield. The hydrogenation of FFR to FAL occurred via the hydrogen species generated in situ from IPA without the formation of metal hydride intermediates.
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Citations
Terefe, R., Sharma, A., Disale, S. S., Tomer, R., Hermans, S., & Biswas, P. (2026). The conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol with high yield via catalytic hydrogenation transfer in the presence of nickel-embedded alumina catalyst derived from metal-organic framework template. Catalysis Today, 476, 115883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2026.115883 (Original work published 2026)