LAUSR

The catalytic conversion of biomass-derived furfural (FFA) to cyclopentanone (CPO) in aqueous solution is an important pathway to obtain sustainable resources, however, the conversion and selectivity under mild conditions are still unsatisfactory. Herein, a catalyst that is made of Ni-NiO heterojunction supported by TiO2 with optimized composition of anatase and rutile (Ni-NiO/TiO2-Re450) was facilely prepared by pyrolysis at 450 °C. By using Ni-NiO/TiO2-Re450, complete conversion of FFA and 87.4% of CPO yield can be achieved under mild reaction conditions (1 MPa, 140 °C, 6 h). The FFA conversion was kept at 95.4% in the fifth run, indicating the high stability of the catalyst.Multiple characterizations, control experiments, and theoretical calculation demonstrate that the high catalytic performance of Ni-NiO/TiO2-Re450 mainly attributes to the synergistic effect of Ni-NiO heterojunction and the TiO2 support. This low-cost catalyst may expedite the catalytic upgrading and practical application of biomass-derived chemicals.