CO(II)-PHENOXYIMINE CATALYZED CATALYTIC TRANSFER HYDROGENATION OF FURFURAL TO FURFURYL ALCOHOL

• Main Author: Ephraim V. Saragih, Zevidear
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Kimia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/75560
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Furfural (FALD) is derived from lignocellulosic biomass through acid-catalyzed dehydration of hemicellulose. Furfural is classified as a versatile platform molecule as it can be converted into fuels, valuable chemicals, and energy sources. The catalytic hydrogenation of furfural produces furfuryl alcohol (FOL), which is used to make heat-resistant polymers, biofuel, coatings, building blocks for pharmaceuticals, and so on. Currently, the production of furfuryl alcohol is predominantly produced via 2 methods: direct hydrogenation using hydrogen gas, or catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH), which utilizes alcohols or organic acids as hydrogen donor. The hydrogenation of furfural using hydrogen gas uses high-pressure hydrogen and platinum group metals-based catalyst. Consequently, the use of high-pressure hydrogen gas requires special handling. Additionally, platinum group metals have low natural abundance. To address this issue, this research focuses on investigating the catalytic activity of a cobalt-based catalyst using phenoxyimine as the ligand in the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol using alcohols as the hydrogen donor. The objective is to achieve selective hydrogenation of the carbonyl bond. This study shows that the conversion of furfural and selectivity of furfuryl alcohol are best when using a ligand derived from 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 4-nitroaniline. Employing isopropyl alcohol as the hydrogen donor, a catalyst concentration of 5 mol% at 160 °C for 8 hours yields close to 100% furfural conversion. These findings suggest that cobalt-phenoxyimine with the mentioned ligand has great potential for efficient furfural conversion to furfuryl alcohol in catalytic transfer hydrogenation reaction.