Catalysis

Adsorption

Engineering

Furfuryl alcohol

Furfural

Transition metal

Center (category theory)

Inorganic chemistry

Chemical engineering

Physical chemistry

Organic chemistry

Alloy

Active center

Desorption

Crystallography

Chemistry

Selectivity

Nickel

Journal of Catalysis

Nickel is a promising catalyst for the hydrogenation of furfural (FA) into furfuryl alcohol (FOL) and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (TFOL). However, slow H* desorption and low catalytic selectivity limit its practical application. Herein, we employed an alloying strategy to tailoring the d-band center of Ni by Cu for efficient and selective catalytic hydrogenation of furfural. A series of Ni-Cu alloy catalysts (NiCux/C) were prepared by pyrolyzing NiCux-BTC (a MOF containing Cu and Ni) precursors. Theoretical calculation demonstrates that Ni exhibits a downshifted d-band center once alloyed by Cu. This change can not only promote the desorption of H from Ni surface to improve the catalytic activity but also thermodynamically favor the transformation of adsorption orientation of FA (from a flat orientation on Ni to a tilted one on Ni-Cu alloy) to enable the selective conversion of FA into FOL or TFOL on demand. NiCu0.33/C catalyst exhibits enhanced activity and selectivity for FA hydrogenation compared to pure Ni and Cu.

An alloy chemistry strategy to tailoring the d-band center of Ni by Cu for efficient and selective catalytic hydrogenation of furfural