Hydrogen-doping into MoO3 supports toward modulated metal-support interactions and efficient furfural hydrogenation on iridium nanocatalysts.

As promising supports, reducible metal oxides afford strong metal-support interactions to achieve efficient catalysis, relying on their band states and surface stoichiometry. Herein, in-situ and controlled hydrogen doping (H-doping) via H2 spillover is employed to engineer the metal-support interactions in hydrogenated MoOx supported Ir (Ir/H-MoOx) catalysts, and thus promote furfural hydrogenation to furfuryl alcohol. Via facilely varying reduction temperature, the resulting H-doping in a controlled manner tailors low-valence Mo species (Mo5+ and Mo4+) on H-MoOx supports, and thus charge-redistribution on Ir and H-MoOx interfaces. This further leads to obvious difference in H2 chemisorption on Ir, showing the promise for catalytic hydrogenation. As expected, the optimal Ir/H-MoOx with controlled H-doping affords high activity (TOF: 4.62 min-1) and selectivity (> 99%) in furfural hydrogenation at a mild condition (T = 30 oC, PH2 = 2 MPa), performing among the best of current catalysts.