One‐Pot 2‐Methyltetrahydrofuran Production from Levulinic Acid in Green Solvents Using Ni‐Cu/Al2O3 Catalysts

Abstract The one‐pot hydrogenation of levulinic acid to 2‐methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF) was performed using a series of Ni‐Cu/Al 2 O 3 catalysts in green solvents, such as water and biomass‐derived alcohols. Ni/Al 2 O 3 provided the highest activity, whereas Cu/Al 2 O 3 was the most selective, reaching a 75 % MTHF yield at 250 °C after 24 h reaction time. Synergetic effects were observed when bimetallic Ni‐Cu/Al 2 O 3 catalysts were used, reaching a 56 % MTHF yield in 5 h at 250 °C for the optimum Ni/Cu ratio. Remarkably, these high yields were obtained using non‐noble metal‐based catalysts and 2‐propanol as the solvent. The catalytic activity and selectivity results are correlated to temperature programmed reduction (TPR), XRD, and STEM characterization data, identifying the role associated with mixed Ni–Cu particles in addition to monometallic Cu and Ni.