LAUSR

2-Hexanol (2-HOL) is a versatile biomass-derived platform molecule for synthesis of liquid transportation fuels, lubricants or detergents. Herein, a one-step preparation of 2-HOL using 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) as a substrate was reported for the first time. Several Au-based catalysts supported on different metal-oxide were prepared to explore the relationships between carriers and catalytic activity. The results showed that the highest 2-HOL yield of 65.8% was obtained at complete HMF conversion over the 5%Au/ZrO2 catalyst. The 5%Au/ZrO2 catalyst exhibited excellent durability after five consecutive recycling runs, while confirming its remarkable ring-opening hydrogenolysis on other biomass-derived furanics, furfural, and the total yield of 1-pentanol and 2-pentanol was 67.4%. The distinguished ring-opening hydrogenolysis performance of the Au/ZrO2 catalyst originates from a synergistic effect between the interfacial Au-O-Zr oxygen vacancies induced Lewis acidic sites (activating C-OH/C=O bonds) and metallic Au (activating H2). This work provides a possibility for producing 2-HOL from HMF with a high yield, expanding the sustainable application of lignocellulosic biomass.