Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation of Biomass Derived 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural into 2,5-Dimethylfuran in a Methanol Medium

The hydrogenation of HMF has been conducted in a methanol medium, which served as hydrogen donor and solvent. Without any additive, HMF was hydrogenated to 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) with complete conversion and selectivity (64%) using well-ordered mesoporous MCM-41 with high nickel content as catalyst at 190 degrees C in 5 h. Two kinds of mesoporous molecular sieve catalysts were prepared by impregnation and in-situ synthesis. Different reaction parameters such as the amount of Ni, reaction time and temperature were optimized to achieve the highest catalytic activity. Moreover, the plausible reasons for the difference in catalytic effects between the two types of catalysts were also discussed.