Efficient manganese decorated cobalt based catalysts for hydrogenation of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5‐dimethylfuran (DMF) biofuel

Abstract 2,5‐dimethylfuran (DMF) is a promising compound in the production of biofuel with high‐quality properties. In this study, it is aimed to develop new efficient catalysts to synthesize DMF from 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Co, Mn/Co, and Ru/Co catalysts were prepared using the NaBH 4 reduction method. The catalysts were subjected to activity tests for the hydrogenation of HMF to DMF by changing the reaction parameters, such as temperature and time. Mn/Co catalysts prepared from metal precursors at various molar ratios of Mn/Co were found to be effective in hydrogenation reactions of HMF to DMF. A 91.8% DMF yield was achieved in the presence of a Mn/Co (50/50) catalyst without noble metal at 180°C for 4 hours. The Brunauer‐Emmet‐Teller (BET) method, x‐ray diffraction (XRD), x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and induction coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP‐MS) techniques were used to characterize the efficient Mn/Co catalyst.