Reductive Amination of 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5‐Bis(aminomethyl)furan over Alumina‐Supported Ni‐Based Catalytic Systems

Abstract Mono‐ and bimetallic Ni‐based catalysts were prepared by screening 6 supports and 14 secondary metals for reductive amination of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (5‐HMF) into 2,5‐bis(aminomethyl)furan (BAMF), among which γ‐Al 2 O 3 and Mn were the best candidates. By further optimization of the reaction conditions at 0.4 g catalyst loading for 0.5 g substrate of 5‐HMF and 160 °C of reaction temperature, 10Ni/γ‐Al 2 O 3 and 10NiMn(4 : 1)/γ‐Al 2 O 3 achieved the highest BAMF yields of 86.3 and 82.1 %, respectively. Although the BAMF yield values were comparable with that over Raney Ni, the turnover frequencies based on the initial BAMF yield and unit weight of Ni for 10NiMn(4 : 1)/γ‐Al 2 O 3 , 10Ni/γ‐Al 2 O 3 , and Raney Ni were calculated as 0.41, 0.09, and 0.04 h −1 , respectively. X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the existence of MnO x well dispersed on the γ‐Al 2 O 3 support and its electron transfer effect with Ni particles on the surface of the support contributed to the high efficiency and better recyclability for the five‐time reused 10NiMn(4 : 1)/γ‐Al 2 O 3 catalyst.