LAUSR

Bimetallic Cu-Fe catalysts with low loading were prepared for hydrogenation of ethyl levulinate (EL) to 1,4-pentanediol (1,4-PDO). Among them, 2.8Cu-3.5Fe/SBA-15 (Cu/Fe molar ratio of 1:1.5) performed best, capable of converting EL into key γ-Valerolactone (GVL) intermediate at 140 °C with 97% yield. It can also be used to hydrogenate GVL to 1,4-PDO with 92.6% selectivity, or convert EL to 1,4-PDO in one-pot. The high activity of catalyst at such a low-loading was attributed to the highly dispersive metal species and the Fe-doping effect. Various characterizations indicated that Fe acted as both structural and electronic modifier to promote the chemical properties of Cu-species. Besides, the incorporation of Fe provided abundant Lewis acid sites and accelerated the reaction process. A CuFeO2 conformation was detected by EDX, XPS and XRD spectra. Combining characterizations with reaction kinetics, the synergistic catalysis of Cu0 and CuFeO2 is considered to be responsible for the excellent performance of Cu-Fe catalysts.