Preparation and activity evaluation of NiMoB/γ-Al2O3 catalyst by liquid-phase furfural hydrogenation

Amorphous MoNiB/γ-Al2O3 alloy catalysts were prepared by reducing NiCl2-6H2O and genation of furfural (FFR) as a probe reaction,the activity of MoNiB/γ-Al2O3 was examined. Compared to NiB and NiMoB,NiMoB/γ-Al2O3 exhibited excellent activity and selectivity towards furfuryl alcohol (FFA). After reaction for 3.0 h at 80 °C and 5.0 MPa in methanol,FFR conversion reached 99% with FFA yield of 91%. The effects of doping amount of Mo and calcination temperature before NaBH4 reduction on hydrogenation activity were also investigated. The optimum Mo/Ni atom ratio and calcination temperature were found to be 1:7 and 300 C,respectively. XRD patterns and SEM images indicated that NiMoB over the surface of γ-Al2O3 was amorphous and highly dispersed,which was responsible for the high thermal stability of the title catalyst.