Co decorated low Pt loading nanoparticles over TiO2 catalyst for selective hydrogenation of furfural

Selective hydrogenation of carbonyl groups in biobased chemicals to alcohols is crucial to the economics of broadly sustainable product portfolios. Furfuryl alcohol (FOL), the most prominent chemical of hemicellulose, has been produced by furfural (FAL) hydrogenation over heterogeneous catalysts. In this work, we show the outstanding activity, selectivity, and stability of supported bimetallic PtCo nanoparticle (np) synthesized from a pre-made stock solution of zero valent atomic Pt precursor and Co2(CO)8. With only 0.5 wt% Pt on TiO2, the np-PtCo/TiO2 catalyst exhibits TOF of 14,023 h−1 at 30 °C with > 99.9% FOL selectivity. The stability of the np-PtCo/TiO2 catalyst is verified by the steady performance in reuses at both moderate and full conversions. The oxyphilic Coδ+ in the PtCo nanoparticles induces nucleophilic chemisorption of -CO, resulting in deeply polarized CO bond. DFT calculated FAL adsorption energies on np-Pt and np-PtCo are − 0.22 eV and − 0.74 eV, respectively. [Display omitted] •Pre-made zero valent Pt atoms in solution enables preparation of stable bimetallic PtCo precursor.•A new method is demonstrated for the preparation of highly dispersed and stable bimetallic PtCo nanoparticles on TiO2.•The PtCo/TiO2 catalyst(0.5 wt% Pt) exhibits > 99.9 % furfuryl alcohol yield under mild conditions.•FT-IR spectroscopy and DFT calculations revealed the selective activation of CO bond in furfural on PtCo catalyst.