Selective hydrogenation of furfural and levulinic acid to biofuels on the ecofriendly Cu–Fe catalyst

A series of chromium-free and noble-metal free Cu–Fe catalysts were successfully synthesized utilizing the inexpensive metal nitrates. Ecofriendly Cu–Fe catalysts exhibited highly efficient performance in the hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural and levulinic acid, where biofuels (2-methylfuran and γ-valerolactone) were obtained at 51% and 90% yield under mild conditions, respectively. The synthesized Cu–Fe catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3-TPD) to elucidate the relationship between the physical property and their catalytic performance. Reaction parameters and the reaction pathways were also investigated. The Cu–Fe catalyst developed in this work is inexpensive, simple, and amenable to scale up, which makes it a promising candidate for the general conversion of biomass-derived monomers to biofuels.