Supported Ultrafine NiCo Bimetallic Alloy Nanoparticles Derived from Bimetal-Organic Frameworks: A Highly Active Catalyst for Furfuryl Alcohol Hydrogenation

Abstract

Highly dispersed NiCo bimetallic alloy nanoparticles have been successfully immobilized on the SiO2 frameworks by using heteronuclear metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as metal alloy precursors. Catalyst characterizations revealed that the average size of NiCo alloy particles was less than 1 nm, with a total metal loading of about 20 wt %. As compared to individual Ni or Co MOF-derived catalysts and the catalysts prepared by the conventional impregnation method, the ultrafine NiCo/SiO2-MOF catalyst showed a much better catalytic performance in the catalytic hydrogenation of furfuryl alcohol (FA) to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA) under mild conditions, giving 99.8% conversion of FA and 99.1% selectivity to THFA. It was found that a significant synergistic effect existed between Co and Ni within the subnanometer NiCo/SiO2-MOF catalyst, which was 2 and 20 times more active than Ni/SiO2-MOF and Co/SiO2-MOF, respectively.