Effect of support on selective 5-hydroxymethylfurfural hydrogenation towards 2,5-dimethylfuran over copper catalysts

摘要

The production of 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) over different copper supported catalysts was investigated. An adequate metal dispersion and the nature of acid sites played a role in catalytic activity. Alumina containing catalysts showed the best performance in HMF hydrogenation and DMF production due to both higher acidity and copper particle size. Cu/Al2O3, Cu/Fe2O3-Al2O3, Cu/Nb2O5-Al2O3-623 and Cu/Nb2O5-Al2O3-773 showed a complete HMF conversion at 1 h of reaction and a DMF yield higher than 85% with a negligible quantity of ring-hydrogenation products ( 1%). Except for Cu/Nb2O5, DMF production occurs via 2,5-bis (hydroxymethyl) furan (BHMF) as the key intermediate.