Efficient hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol over a non-noble Ni/CeO2 catalyst under mild conditions

Tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA) is an important green solvent and a key feedstock for the synthesis of chemicals such as succinic acid, 1,5-pentanediol, tetrahydrofuran, and pyran. In this study, a Ni/CeO₂ catalyst was synthesized via a simple co-precipitation method, which can efficiently catalyze the hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural to THFA under mild conditions. The catalyst was characterized using XRD, XPS, H₂-TPR, H₂-TPD, and CO₂-TPD. The results indicate that hydrogen molecules adsorb and dissociate into active hydrogen species on the highly dispersed Ni⁰ active sites, which then rapidly migrate to the catalyst surface to attack adsorbed furfural, generating furfuryl alcohol, which is subsequently hydrogenated to THFA. Additionally, the stability and reusability of the catalyst were thoroughly investigated. The 20Ni/CeO₂ catalyst maintained good catalytic activity after five cycles of reuse. This work demonstrates the potential of non-noble metal Ni-based catalysts for efficient hydrogenation under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions, providing a new approach for the economical and efficient production of THFA.