A Stable and Reusable Supported Copper Catalyst for the Selective Liquid-Phase Hydrogenation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-Bis(hydroxymethyl)furan

Synthesis of 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) by selective 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) hydrogenation is ecofriendly and industrially important since HMF obtained from renewable sources, BHMF a raw material used for production biodegradable polymers. Four copper-based catalysts were prepared incipient wetness impregnation (Cu/SiO2-I, Cu/Al2O3-I), precipitation–deposition (Cu/SiO2-PD) coprecipitation (CuMgAl), then tested in the liquid-phase HMF. Metallic phases with large copper particles impregnation, while precipitation methods gave highly dispersed metal nanoparticles. The pattern found concentration strength surface acid sites was: CuMgAl > Cu/Al2O3-I Cu/SiO2-PD Cu/SiO2-I. active are all to BHMF, but intrinsic activity stability depend on metallic dispersion support nature. catalyst becomes poorer cases that phase formed or interacts high-acidity supports. Therefore, highest activity, yield was Cu/SiO2-PD. Furthermore, it reusable after being submitted two-step thermal treatment: (1) calcination under air flow at 673 K; (2) reduction H2 523 K.