Efficient MPV reductions of biomass-derived aldehydes and ketones over an assembling zirconium-gallic acid hybrid under mild condition

Zr5-GAF synthesized from natural renewable gallic acid effectively promoted the MPV reduction of furfural into furfuryl alcohol under mild condition. [Display omitted] •Natural resource of gallic acid was used for the synthesis of robust heterogeneous catalysts.•The method of catalyst preparation did not involve energy-intensive processes.•F127 effectively enhanced the physicochemical properties of the catalyst while dispersing Zr.•A high FA production rate (45267 μmol·g−1·h−1) was obtained compared to previous reports (5940 μmol·g−1·h−1) at 100 ℃.•Zr5-GAF exhibited good recyclability for at least six reaction cycles. The utilization of natural renewable resources for the synthesis of catalytic materials and their application for the sustainable production of high value chemicals from lignocellulose is a very attractive topic. Herein, F127 was used as a dispersant to promote the formation of robust organic–inorganic hybrids (Zr5-GAF) of gallic acid (GA) selected as organic ligands with Zr in ethanol for the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction of biomass-derived aldehydes and ketones. Multiple characterizations proved that F127 enhanced the connectivity of Zr and GA while effectively increased the specific surface area and pore volume of the catalyst. The addition of F127 shifted the binding energy of Zr and O to higher values and thus obtained more and stronger Lewis acid-base sites. The synthesized Zr5-GAF helped to yield near-quantitative furfuryl alcohol (FA, 94.7%) and a much higher FA production rate than previously reported under mild conditions (100 ℃, 1 h). Moreover, kinetic experiments showed that the reduction activation energy of furfural was as low as 36.04 kJ/mol and Zr5-GAF exhibited good recyclability for at least six reaction cycles. The approach of designing heterogeneous catalytic materials from GA with economical, environmentally friendly and sustainable characteristics has great potential in green chemistry.