Experimental study demonstrates efficient carbonyl hydrogenation using a zirconium-methylimidazole catalyst, suggesting enhanced selectivity without Brønsted acid sites.
Key Points
Develop a Brønsted acid site-free zirconium coordination catalyst to achieve highly selective Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley reduction of biomass-derived carbonyl compounds.
Synthesized a zirconium-methylimidazole coordination catalyst (Zr-MIZ) through room-temperature self-assembly in methanol using 2-methylimidazole as a base ligand.
Evaluated catalytic performance in the Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley transfer hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol in isopropanol at 130 °C for 4 hours.
Assessed catalyst reusability over five cycles and tested substrate universality across varied aldehydes and ketones.
Zr-MIZ facilitated furfural hydrogenation to furfuryl alcohol with 99.2% yield and 99.2% selectivity at 130 °C in 4 hours.
The catalyst maintained steady catalytic activity across five consecutive reuse cycles.
The catalytic system successfully converted diverse carbonyl substrates, including 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, benzaldehyde, cyclopentanone, and methyl levulinate.