Porous Hollow Nanostructure Promoting the Catalytic Performance and Stability of Ni3P in Furfural Hydrogenation

In the processes of hydrogenation, the accurate control of product distribution is crucial to the high-value conversion of furfural. Herein, Ni3P catalysts were prepared by phase separation synthesis with porous hollow nanospheres and employed as catalysts for the hydrogenation of furfural. Over the Ni3P-400 catalyst, furfural could be transformed completely with 95.6% selectivity toward furfuryl alcohol under 120 degrees C and 1.6 MPa for 4 h. The deactivation of the Ni3P-400 catalyst was not observed during 8-run recycling tests. Moreover, using other carbonyl compounds derived from biomass as substrates, excellent catalytic performance was also obtained. Such exceptional features make the Ni3P-400 catalyst promising for industrial applications not only in hydrogenation of furfural but also in hydrogenation of other carbonyl substrates.