Hydrogenation of 2-Hydroxytetrahydrofuran to 1,4-Butanediol Over Ni–Fe/SiO2 Bimetallic Catalysts

2-Hydroxytetrahydrofuran (HTHF) is the main by-product of hydrogenation of 1,4-butynediol (BYD) to 1,4-butanediol (BDO) in industry, which is difficult to be effectively removed in the subsequent distillation process and seriously affects the product quality. Here, a series of silica-supported bimetallic Ni–Fe catalysts with different Fe/Ni weight ratios were prepared by using incipient wetness impregnation method and investigated the effect of Fe on the catalyst performance in the hydrogenation of HTHF to BDO. In comparison with monometallic Ni and Fe catalysts, bimetallic Ni–Fe catalysts exhibited better performance for HTHF hydrogenation due to the formation of Ni–Fe alloy phase identified by XRD, TEM, STEM-EDS, H 2 -TPR, NH 3 /H 2 -TPD, Pyridine FTIR and XPS, etc. A mechanism is proposed to explain the promoting effect of Fe, which can be assigned to the synergism between nickel sites with high ability to activate/overflow hydrogen and Fe-containing sites with strong oxophilicity for the activation of the O-C-O bond over the tetrahydrofuran ring. Graphical Abstract