Synergistic catalytic activity of core-shell Pd@UiO-66(Hf) MOF catalyst for the one-pot hydrogenation-esterification of furfural

The development of new strategies for cascade reactions that demand composite catalysts with multifunctionality is imperative to advance bio-oil upgradation and its combustion properties. This work reports a model bio-oil-upgrading method of one-pot hydrogenation-esterification (OHE) of furfural for selective synthesis of furfuryl acetate using a bifunctional [email protected](Hf) core-shell material. Additionally, the catalytic activity of Pd/UiO-66(Hf) and [email protected](Zr) materials were evaluated in the OHE reaction for comparison. Various properties of the screened catalysts were elucidated by different characterization techniques. The [email protected](Hf) hybrid material demonstrated high catalytic performance in the OHE reaction of furfural with acetic acid. The superior activity of [email protected](Hf) over the other MOF-based hybrid materials is correlated with its surface acidic properties and the synergistic effect of Pd NPs with the acidic sites (on SBU of MOF). The excellent performance exhibited by [email protected](Hf) in OHE of furfural with acetic acid is superior to the reported catalysts. The present study offers new opportunities for the efficient conversion of biomass-derived molecules into value-added products. This is the first-ever report on MOF-based catalyst studied for the OHE reaction of furfural with acetic acid for the selective synthesis of furfuryl acetate.