Lignin meets MOFs: Design of spherical carbon-based NiCo catalysts for catalytic hydrogen transfer of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 5-methylfurfuryl alcohol

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a very important chemical intermediate, while it can be hydrogenated into various value-added chemicals. However, the hydrogenation of HMF over non-precious metal catalysts still remains as a challenging problem. In this study, lignosulfonate (LS) was used as carbon resource, and successfully introduced into MOFs structure. Then, a series of lignin-MOF derived catalysts (NinCo-MOF-LS) were prepared by the hydrothermal method with different ratios of Ni and Co metals. The selective conversion of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 5-methylfurfuryl alcohol (MFA) was achieved over NinCo-MOF-LS catalyst in a N2 atmosphere with isopropanol as solvent. The Ni/Co metal ratios and calcination temperature played a key role in the catalytic performance of the catalyst. The catalysts showed good catalytic performance in the selective hydrogenation of HMF to MFA through an in-depth study of various reaction parameters such as temperature, pressure, reaction time and catalyst dosage. The coordination of lignosulfonate and MOFs provide a novel alternative for the utilization of lignin resource and the upgrading of biomass-derived chemicals.