Regulation of Pt Loading on Co/Al₂O₃ Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation and Hydrogenolysis of 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5‐Bis(hydroxymethyl)furan and 2,5‐Dimethylfuran

Abstract

Abstract Selective hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5‐bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) and 2,5‐dimethylfuran (DMF) were explored by regulating the nanosized Pt on Co/Al 2 O 3 catalysts. Characterization results revealed that the catalyst acidity was influenced by adjusting the Co/Pt composition, while the addition of more Pt loading on Co/Al 2 O 3 catalysts resulted in a facilitation of H 2 reduction process. Lower size of catalyst particles was obtained for the Co−Pt system in comparison to the monometallic Co/Al 2 O 3 catalyst. Additionally, the structural characterizations by XRD, XANES, and XPS established the co‐existences between metallic Pt 0 /Co 0 and oxophilic PtO 2 /CoO x , acting as the active components for the reactions. Operated under a full HMF conversion, the Co 1 Pt 0.050 Al catalyst with high Pt loading gave >99.9 % BHMF selectivity at 40 °C; whereas, an 86.7 % of DMF selectivity was noticeable over low Pt loading of the Co 1 Pt 0.013 Al catalyst at 160 °C. This investigation evidenced that the selective production of BHMF or DMF towards hydro‐conversion of HMF was relied on the amount of Pt contents on Co/Al 2 O 3 catalyst, in which the metal sizes and acidity had meaningful effects on the hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis processes.