Furfural Hydrogenation on Modified Niobia

In this study, niobia-based materials have been used as supports for Pt nanoparticles and used in the hydrogenation of furfural. The incorporation of dopants (W6+ and Ti4+) in the Nb2O5 structure induced modifications in the surface acidity of the support; in particular, the addition of W6+ increased the amount of Lewis acid sites, while the addition of Ti4+ decreased the number of Lewis acid sites. As a result, the catalytic activity towards the hydrogenation of furfural was affected; high surface acidity resulted in high catalytic activity. The selectivity of the reaction changed with the support acidity as well, with higher amount of furfuryl alcohol produced decreasing the Lewis acid sites.