Efficient production of the liquid fuel 2,5-dimethylfuran from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over Ru/Co3O4 catalyst

• Ru/Co3O4 catalyst was prepared by simple coprecipitation method.
• Excellent activity and reusability were obtained in the conversion of HMF to DMF.
• 93.4% yield of DMF was realized at mind conditions.
• 4. Ru was responsible for hydrogenation.
• CoOx species played important role in the hydrogenolysis of hydroxyl groups.

Ru/Co3O4 catalyst prepared by a simple coprecipitation method, was used to catalyze the conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) for the first time and exhibited excellent catalytic performance. 93.4% yield of DMF was achieved at relatively low reaction temperature and H2 pressure (130 °C, 0.7 MPa). Further studies showed that Ru is responsible for hydrogenation, while CoOx species played important role in the hydrogenolysis of hydroxyl groups. Besides, this catalyst also displayed a good reusability and can be used for 5 times without loss of the activity.

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