Bi-functional active sites Cu/MgO-La2O3 catalysts the selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol

Selective hydrogenation of biomass with high efficiency to produce fine chemicals has high economic value and research significance. The Cu/MgO-La2O3 catalyst exhibits distinct active sites that facilitate the selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol. Under optimal reaction conditions (90℃, 70 min) with the Cu/MgO-La2O3-6 catalyst, furfural conversion and furfuryl alcohol selectivity exceed 99.9 %. The catalyst’s activity remained approximately 97.6 % after five cycles. The combination of catalytic data, characterization tests, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirms that the addition of La promotes Cu reduction, resulting in a structured arrangement of highly hydrogenated copper sites (activation H2) and strongly adsorbed lanthanum sites (adsorbed furfural). Mechanistic studies indicate that the two active sites can simultaneously activate hydrogen and furfural. The strong adsorption of furfural enhances the hydrogenation reaction, while the weak adsorption of furfuryl alcohol inhibits side reaction pathways, thus achieving excellent catalytic selectivity.