Single-step synthesis of 2-pentanone from furfural over Cu–Ni @SBA-15

A single-step new route has been developed to synthesize 2-pentanone from biomass-derived furfural via simultaneous hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), ring-opening (RO) and hydrogenation reactions over a bi-metallic Cu–Ni/SBA-15 catalyst in a fixed-bed continuous flow reactor. Cu–Ni/SBA-15 catalysts were synthesized by the incipient wetness impregnation method. Synthesized catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), TEM mapping, SEM, ICP-AES. Ammonia temperature-programmed desorption (NH3-TPD) analysis of catalysts revealed that moderate acidity of 10Cu–5Ni/SBA-15 catalyst favoured a high yield of 2-pentanone. DFT calculation, indicate the adsorption energy and the reaction mechanism of the molecules on the surface of 10Cu–5Ni/SBA-15 play a vital role for the desired product. The catalyst system was found highly active and selective, yielding (78%) of 2-pentanone under mild reaction conditions. The effect of reaction temperature was studied in detail, and time on stream analysis confirmed the catalyst is long-lasting stable up to 20 h of reaction duration. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd