Tandem hydrogenation/hydrogenolysis of furfural to 2-methylfuran over multifunctional metallic Cu nanoparticles supported ZIF-8 catalyst

[Display omitted] •Developed metallic Cu NPs loaded ZIF-8 hybrid materials by impregnation method.•11Cu(1.5 M)/ZIF-8 catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of furfural to 2-methylfuran.•Achieved > 99 % furfural conversion and 93.9 % 2-methylfuran (2-MF) selectivity.•Traced intriguing catalytic properties, responsible for higher 2-MF yield (93.7%) Catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH), that employs protic solvents as hydrogen sources to alleviate the use of molecular hydrogen H2, has gained great attention. This work, reports multifunctional, metallic Cu nanoparticles supported ZIF-8 material for CTH of furfural to a highly valued fuel additive, 2-methylfuran (2-MF) using 2-propanol. Of all as-synthesized xCu(yM)/ZIF-8 catalysts with varied NaBH4 concentration (yM) and Cu loading (x), 11Cu(1.5 M)/ZIF-8 exhibited higher catalytic activity with > 99 % FAL conversion and 93.9 % 2-MF selectivity. This is ascribed to its high specific surface area, and existence of optimum amount of Lewis acid-base sites along with Cu0 species, which are responsible for hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol and subsequent hydrogenolysis to produce 2-MF. The present work reports a highly efficient and stable, metal-MOF hybrid material for CTH of FAL to 2-MF, which is one among the best reports available in literature, therewith suggests a promising approach for bio-oil upgradation.