MOF derived non-noble metal catalysts to control the distribution of furfural selective hydrogenation products

•A ZnCo bimetal ZIF was synthesized quickly and efficiently by an ultrasonic-assisted method.•ZnCo-US@NC-700 leads to excellent furfural hydrogenation performance.•The distribution of furfural hydrogenation products could be regulated by Zn doping. Furfural, as one of the most important and attractive platform molecules, could produce high-value chemicals through selective hydrogenation, which had attracted wide attention in recent years. Hereon, a ZnCo bimetal ZIF (ZnCo-ZIF-US) was quickly and efficiently prepared by an ultrasonic-assisted method, and a series of nitrogen-doped carbon-coated bimetallic composites (ZnCo-US@NC-T, T refers to the calcination temperature) were prepared by a one-step calcination technique from ZnCo-ZIF-US and their structures were characterized in detail by PXRD, SEM, TEM, and XPS etc. The obtained ZnCo-US@NC-700 showed higher catalytic performance in the selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol than the derivatives of ZnCo bimetal ZIF prepared without ultrasonic-assisted. Surprisingly, the results showed the presence or absence of Zn in the catalysts could regulate the hydrogenation products of furfural to produce furfuryl alcohol or tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. In addition, the catalyst could be recycled with almost no significant change in catalytic performance and its microstructure was still well maintained. This work provides an ingenious strategy for the selective regulation of biomass products. [Display omitted]