A Stable and Reusable Supported Copper Catalyst for the Selective Liquid-Phase Hydrogenation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-Bis(hydroxymethyl)furan

Abstract

Synthesis of 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) by selective 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) hydrogenation is ecofriendly and industrially important since HMF is obtained from renewable sources, and BHMF is a raw material used for production of biodegradable polymers. Four copper-based catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation (Cu/SiO2-I, Cu/Al2O3-I), precipitation–deposition (Cu/SiO2-PD) and coprecipitation (CuMgAl), and then tested in the liquid-phase hydrogenation of HMF. Metallic phases with large copper particles were obtained by incipient wetness impregnation, while precipitation methods gave highly dispersed metal copper nanoparticles. The pattern found for the concentration and strength of surface acid sites was: CuMgAl > Cu/Al2O3-I > Cu/SiO2-PD > Cu/SiO2-I. The copper-based catalysts active in HMF hydrogenation are all highly selective to BHMF, but the intrinsic activity and stability depend on metallic copper dispersion and support nature. The catalyst stability becomes poorer in the cases that the metallic phase is formed by large copper particles or interacts with high-acidity supports. Therefore, the catalyst with the highest activity, BHMF yield and stability was Cu/SiO2-PD. Furthermore, it was found that Cu/SiO2-PD is reusable in the selective liquid-phase HMF hydrogenation after being submitted to a two-step thermal treatment: (1) calcination under air flow at 673 K; (2) reduction under H2 flow at 523 K.