Efficient catalytic selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over Pt-supported on surface amino functionalized hexagonal BN nanosheets

We presented a new and facile one-step ball milling method for the simultaneous preparation and functionalization of hexagonal BN nanosheets from commercial hexagonal BN (BN-C) and urea, based on the synergistic effects of mechanical shear and chemical functionalization of urea. The influences of ball milling time (x = 3, 6, 12 and 15 h) on properties of the BN nanosheets (BN-U10-x) were investigated by XRD, SEM, AFM, FTIR, EPR, UV Vis-DRS and XPS. The Pt/BN-U10-x catalysts, where Pt nanoparticles anchored to the edge of amino-functionalized BN-U10-x supports, were prepared by a simple and environment-friendly ethylene glycol reduction method, and applied for catalytic hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol. Various characterizations were used to analyze the influence of the properties of BN-U10-x on the Pt species of Pt/BN-U10-x and their catalytic activity. It can be found that the electron transfer between the amino-functionalized BN-U10-x supports and Pt is enhanced, making the Pt nanoparticles electron-rich and stable, which facilitates the activation of H₂ and adsorption of furfural by C=O. Among these catalysts, Pt/BN-U10-12 shows good activity with FAL conversion of 94.2% and FOL selectivity of 96.3% under10 bar H₂ at 80 °C for 3 h.