Catalytic Conversion of Tetrahydrofurfuryl Alcohol over Stable Pt/MoS 2 Catalysts

MoS2 supported noble metal catalysts were used for the catalytic conversion of terahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA) to 1,5-pentanediol (1,5-PDO) and its derivate tetrahydropyrane (THP). Over the optimal 4%Pt/MoS2-FR catalyst, 75.8% overall selectivity (35.4% to 1,5-PDO and 40.4% to THP) and 63.7% conversion of 5 wt% THFA solution were obtained after 8 h reaction at 250 °C. The catalyst showed stable catalytic performance in five-cycle reactions, demonstrating the robustness of Pt/MoS2 under the harsh hydrothermal and hydrogenation conditions. A variety of characterizations, including CO-DRIFTS, HRTEM, H2-TPR, Raman spectroscopy and XPS revealed that typical behavior of strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) existed between Pt and MoS2, largely caused by the coverage of MoS2 over Pt and rarely reported previously. The Pt/MoS2 had intact structure under the harsh conditions thanks to the SMSI and chemical stability of MoS2. The acidity of Pt/MoS2 was negligible, and the active sites for the reaction were attributed to Pt and the Mo sites interacting closely on the catalysts. The reaction pathway was proposed according to the product distributions and the results of conditional experiments.