Selective Production of 2‐Methylfuran by Gas‐Phase Hydrogenation of Furfural on Copper Incorporated by Complexation in Mesoporous Silica Catalysts

Copper species have been incorporated in mesoporous silica (MS) through complexation with the amine groups of dodecylamine, which was used as a structure‐directing agent in the synthesis. A series of Cu/SiO2 catalysts (xCu‐MS) with copper loadings (x) from 2.5 to 20 wt % was synthesized and evaluate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ChemSusChem 2017-04, Vol.10 (7), p.1448-1459
Main Authors: Jiménez‐Gómez, Carmen Pilar, Cecilia, Juan A., Moreno‐Tost, Ramón, Maireles‐Torres, Pedro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amines - chemistry
Atmospheric Pressure
biomass
Catalysis
Catalysts
Complexation
Copper
Copper - chemistry
Furaldehyde - chemistry
Furans - chemistry
Furfural
Hydrogen - chemistry
Hydrogenation
mesoporous materials
nanoparticles
oxygen heterocycles
Porosity
Silicon dioxide
Silicon Dioxide - chemistry
Surface Properties
Synthesis (chemistry)
Temperature
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Summary:Copper species have been incorporated in mesoporous silica (MS) through complexation with the amine groups of dodecylamine, which was used as a structure‐directing agent in the synthesis. A series of Cu/SiO2 catalysts (xCu‐MS) with copper loadings (x) from 2.5 to 20 wt % was synthesized and evaluated in the gas‐phase hydrogenation of furfural (FUR). The most suitable catalytic performance in terms of 2‐methylfuran yield was obtained with an intermediate copper content (10 wt %). This 10Cu‐MS catalyst exhibits a 2‐methylfuran yield higher than 95 mol % after 5 h time‐on‐stream (TOS) at a reaction temperature of 210 °C with a H2/FUR molar ratio of 11.5 and a weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 1.5 h−1. After 14 h TOS, this catalyst still showed a yield of 80 mol %. In all cases, carbonaceous deposits on the external surface were the cause of the catalyst deactivation, although sintering of the copper particles was observed for higher copper loadings. This intermediate copper loading (10 wt %) offered a suitable balance between resistance to sintering and tendency to form carbonaceous deposits. Selectivity to 2‐methylfuran: Cu‐based catalysts are synthesized through the complexation of Cu species with the amine groups used as a template for the synthesis of mesoporous silica materials, and subsequent calcination and reduction leads to the formation of small Cu nanoparticles, which are highly active and selective for the hydrogenation of furfural to 2‐methylfuran.
ISSN:1864-5631
1864-564X
DOI:10.1002/cssc.201700086