Biochar-supported PdCo catalyst facilitates hydrogenation of bio-based furfural under mild conditions: the function of biochar support

Abstract Efficient biomass biochar-supported metal catalysts are essential for the conversion of biomass-derived chemicals. However, there is a lack of in-depth research on the function of biochar support. This research describes the direct loading of untreated sunflower stem pith (SP) with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as precursors, which were carbonized in a single step to produce Co-atom-evenly-doped biomass biochar support (Co/SPC), subsequently loaded with a low concentration of Pd to create a bimetallic catalyst (Pd-Co/SPC). The catalyst demonstrated remarkable efficacy in the hydrogenation of furfural (FAL) to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA), achieving a 99.9% yield within 1 h at 100 °C. This performance significantly surpassed that of Pd/SPC (28.1%) and the inactive Co/SPC, with the 99.9% yield sustained even at the milder temperature of 40 °C. The excellent catalytic performance of the Pd-Co/SPC catalyst was attributed to three main aspects. First, controlled experiments and characterization results demonstrated that the acidic and basic nature of the sunflower pith-derived biochar support promoted the activation of FAL. Second, the interaction between the biochar support and the metal not only inhibited the agglomeration of metal particles but also augmented the electron density of the PdCo metal and facilitated the activation of H 2 . Finally, the synergistic interaction between the highly dispersed Pd and Co facilitated the activation of H 2 and stabilized the intermediate furfuryl alcohol (FOL). Furthermore, this superior metal-support interaction contributed to the increased stability of the catalyst. This work presents a novel approach for the high-value utilization of biochar and highly efficient catalysis of biomass conversion. Graphical Abstract