Reductive amination of furfural over Me/SiO2–SO3H (Me: Pt, Ir, Au) catalysts

• Reductive amination of furfural over Me/SiO2–SO3H (Me: Ir, Pt and Au) catalysts.
• The catalysts are active due to the interaction of sulfonic groups and metal sites.
• This interaction favors the hydrogenation step increasing the yield to this amine.
• This interaction was evidenced by XPS analysis.

Gold, platinum and iridium colloids were supported on sulfonic acid-functionalized silica and were employed for the reductive amination of furfural. The catalysts were characterized by N2-physisorption at 77 K, X-ray diffraction, H2 chemisorption and XPS. The results indicated that Ir, Au and Pt colloids were uniformly dispersed on the SiO2–SO3H support. XPS results showed the interaction of sulfonic acid groups and metal sites which favors the formation of imine and its subsequent hydrogenation to amine.

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