Transfer-hydrogenation of furfural and levulinic acid over supported copper catalyst

Transfer-hydrogenation (TH) has attracted great attention because it does not require the use of high pressure H2. In this work, we report a facile ultrasound-assisted impregnation method with the aid of carbothermal reduction property of activated carbon (AC) to synthesize AC supported copper catalyst (Cu/AC) for efficient TH of bio-derived unsaturated oxygenated compounds such as furfural (FAL) and levulinic acid (LA). In the presence of 2-propanol as the hydrogen donor, within 5 h under 200 °C, the resultant Cu/AC catalyst can convert FAL into 2-methylfuran (2-MF, a high-value fuel additive) with a superior selectivity of 91.6%. The Cu/AC catalyst can also covert LA into γ-valerolactone (GVL) with a high selectivity of 89.9% under 220 °C for 5 h. The superior TH catalytic performance of the Cu/AC catalyst could be attributed to the uniform size and well dispersed Cu nanoparticles supported on the high surface area AC with the suitable proportion of Cu2+, Cu0 and Cu+. Cycling test results confirm the reusability of the Cu/AC catalyst. Additionally, the reported Cu/AC catalyst is cheap and massive producible, advantageous for large-scale conversion of bio-derived platforms to value-added chemicals and bio-fuels.