Choice of solvent can greatly affect selectivity

 

Scientific Achievement

The hydrogenation of furfural over Pd can result in radically different products depending on the nature of the solvent.

Significance and Impact

Furfural is an important derivative of biomass conversion and catalytic upgrading in the liquid phase can result in valuable intermediates for fuels and chemicals.

Research Details

• In water, the dominant product is furfuryl alcohol at all conversion levels (i.e. carbonyl is hydrogenated) . By contrast, in THF, the primary product is tetrahydrofurfural (i.e. carbonyl is hydrogenated)
• Combination of computational and experimental studies has helped to derive a H-transfer mechanism that explains the role of water in favoring preferentially the hydrogenation of the carbonyl.

 

 

Figure: Theoretical depiction of furfural adsorbed on Pd (111) from solution in the presence of the water solvent