Robust Co3O4 nanocatalysts supported on biomass-derived porous N-doped carbon toward low-pressure hydrogenation of furfural

• Published in: Frontiers of materials science 2023-06, Vol.17 (2), Article 230645
• Main Authors: Zhang, Lin, Cheng, Lanlan, Hu, Yechen, Xiao, Qingguang, Chen, Xiufang, Lu, Wangyang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomass; Carbon; Catalytic activity; Catalytic converters; Chemistry and Materials Science; Cobalt oxides; Conversion; Furfural; Furfuryl alcohol; High density; Hydrogenation; Low pressure; Materials Science; Metal oxides; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Noble metals; Pyrolysis; Research Article
• ISSN: 2095-025X; 2095-0268
• DOI: 10.1007/s11706-023-0645-9

The catalytic conversion of biomass platform chemicals using abundant non-noble metal nanocatalysts is a challenging topic. Here, high-density cobalt oxide nanoparticles loaded on biomass-derived porous N-doped carbon (NC) was fabricated by a tandem hydrothermal pyrolysis and mild nitrate decomposition process, which is a green and cheap preparation method. The Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles with the average size of 12 nm were uniformly distributed on the porous NC. The nanocomposites also possessed large surface area, high N content, good dispersibility in isopropanol, and furfural absorbability. Due to these characteristics, the novel cobalt nanocatalyst exhibited high catalytic activity for producing furfuryl alcohol, yielding 98.7% of the conversion and 97.1% of the selectivity at 160 °C for 6 h under 1 bar H 2 . The control experiments implied that both direct hydrogenation and transfer hydrogenation pathways co-existed in the hydrogenation reaction. The excellent catalytic activity of Co 3 O 4 @NC was attributed to the cooperative effects of porous NC and Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles. This approach provides a new idea to design effective high-density nonnoble metal oxide nanocatalysts for hydrogenation reactions, which can make full use of sustainable natural biomass.