Abstract
The conversion of biomass into sustainable biofuel is achievable through biorefinery. In this regard, the selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol, 2-methylfuran, and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol has attracted a great interest. This research aims to prepare an active and selective catalyst for hydrogenation of furfural in liquid phase. To achieve this objective, we employed a water-stable zirconium(IV)-based metal-organic framework (MOF) [Zr6O4(OH)(4)(BTC)(2)(CH3COO)(6)] (Zr-BTC) (BTC =benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) and modified it with Ru and Pd to form Ru/Zr-BTC and Pd/Zr-BTC. The diffracto-grams of Zr-BTC modified with Ru and Pd metal fit well with the diffractogram of the pristine Zr-BTC, indicating that the presence of Ru and Pd in Zr-BTC does not change the Zr-BTC structure. This is further confirmed by FTIR spectra. The obtained materials showed type I adsorption isotherms, thus the material can be classified as microporous. The presence of Pd/Ru metal on the surface and in the pores of Zr-BTC decreases the total pore volume and BET surface area. Electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) analysis further confirmed that the Pd and Ru were successfully encapsulated in Zr-BTC. Ru/ Zr-BTC and Pd/Zr-BTC showed excellent performance in the catalytic liquid-phase hydrogenation reaction of furfural to furfuryl alcohol with conversion of 99.4% and 98.4% for Ru/Zr-BTC and Pd/Zr-BTC, respectively, and selectivity to furfuryl alcohol (FA) up to 100% for both catalysts.