Active metal oxide-nitrogen-doped carbon hybrid catalysts towards selective catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) recently attracts significant attention in biorefinery due to the free of using high-pressure fossil-derived H 2 that potentially reduce the equipment cost. Herein, up to 20 kinds of metal oxide-nitrogen-doped carbon (MO x -N-C) hybrid catalysts are prepared via a hydrothermal method followed by heat treatment under argon, and the successful preparation of such hybrid catalyst is confirmed by various means. Al is found to be the best element to construct such hybrid catalyst towards CTH, giving 96.6% yield of furfuryl alcohol at 99.3% furfural conversion at 120 o C for 6 h. By combining various characterization techniques, the deactivation and regeneration of AlOx-N-C catalyst is attributed to the change in specific surface area, pore volume, and the number of oxygen vacancies. The excellent catalytic performance of AlO x -N-C catalysts provides a broader prospect for its utilization in other biomass conversions as catalysts or active supports. • AlOx-N-C catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic performance towards CTH of furfural. • Oxygen vacancy plays an important role during CTH. • Such hybrid holds great potential in biomass conversion as catalyst or active support.