Reaction pathways of furfural, furfuryl alcohol and 2-methylfuran on Cu(111) and NiCu bimetallic surfaces

摘要

Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is an important reaction for converting biomass-derived furfural to value-added 2-methylfuran, which is a promising fuel additive. In this work, the HDO of furfural to produce 2-methylfuran occurred on the NiCu bimetallic surfaces prepared on either Ni(111) or Cu(111). The reaction pathways of furfural were investigated on Cu(111) and Ni/Cu(111) surfaces using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) experiments. These studies provided mechanistic insights into the effects of bimetallic formation on enhancing the HDO activity. Specifically, furfural weakly adsorbed on Cu(111), while it strongly adsorbed on Ni/Cu(111) through an eta(2)(C,O) configuration, which led to the HDO of furfural on Ni/Cu(111). The ability to dissociate H-2 on Ni/Cu(111) is also an important factor for enhancing the HDO activity over Cu(111). (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.