Modification of Commercial Pt/C via Deep Eutectic Solvent-Assisted Solvothermal Strategy for Efficient Selective Hydrogenation of Furfural Under Mild Conditions

Efficient conversion of biomass-based platform molecules into high-value derivatives is recognized as one formidable challenge in biomass upgrading. In this work, a one-pot deep eutectic solvents-assisted solvothermal method was developed for the modification of the commercial Pt/C catalysts by introducing a secondary metal (M = Sn, Bi, Ge, Sb, Pb). The structural and electronic properties of the catalysts were precisely tuned. Among the screened metals, the addition of Sn yielded the most significant improvement in catalytic activity. The optimized PtSn0.5/C-140 catalyst achieved superior furfural (FAL) conversion and furfuryl alcohol (FOL) selectivity under mild conditions (20 °C, 2 MPa H2). Comprehensive characterizations, including XRD, HRTEM, XPS, and H2-TPD, confirmed the formation of Pt-Sn solid-solution phase. Furthermore, Characterization and reaction results revealed that the electronic and geometric effects induced by Sn modulated Pt active sites, significantly enhancing the adsorption of the active H species. Additionally, the SnOx species adjacent to the Pt-Sn sites served as hydrogen spillover acceptors, further accelerating the hydrogenation process. The synergy between the Pt-Sn solid-solution phase and SnOx species is identified as the origin of the superior performance at room temperature. These findings provide a new strategy for the design of high-performance biomass conversion catalysts by upgrading commercial noble metal catalysts.