Titanium silicalite-1 supported bimetallic catalysts for selective hydrogenolysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to biofuel 2, 5-dimethylfuran

Abstract Production of biofuels from biomass resources has received wide attention because of the current energy crisis. Recently, significant interest has been directed towards the selective hydrogenolysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to produce biofuel 2, 5-dimethylfuran (DMF). In this study, non-noble Ni–Cu catalysts with various Ni/Cu ratios, supported on titanium silicalite-1 (TS-1), were prepared through a solid-phase grinding method and used to catalyze the hydrogenolysis of HMF to DMF under a hydrogen atmosphere. The structure and surface morphology of the catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared, thermogravimetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia, scanning electron microscopy, and N2 adsorption-desorption techniques. Under the optimized reaction conditions, the conversion of HMF and the selectivity for DMF over a 40%Ni–5%Cu/TS-1 catalyst could reach 100.0% and 97.3%, respectively. Importantly, because the strong interaction of the Ni–Cu alloy structure prevents further reaction of the furan ring, almost no by-products are produced. The metal sites of Ni and Cu and the acid sites of TS-1 combine to provide a synergistic effect, which is beneficial to the hydrogenolysis of HMF. In addition, reusability experiments showed that the catalyst maintained good activity and stability.