• • Ni2Al-LDO catalyst achieves 91.42% yield of furfuryl alcohol (FOL) at 160 °C and 1.4 MPa H2, demonstrating high selectivity for partial hydrogenation of furfural, which is critical for producing resin and pharmaceutical intermediates.
• • After reduction at 700 °C for 2 h, the catalyst (Ni2Al-LDO-700) yields 93.95% tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (HFOL) under identical conditions, showcasing a complete switch in selectivity from FOL to HFOL via reduction-degree engineering.
• • The selectivity switch is governed by the NiO/Ni0 ratio: NiO-rich surfaces adsorb only the carbonyl group, promoting MPV hydrogenation with isopropanol, while metallic Ni0 surfaces adsorb both furan ring and carbonyl, enabling full hydrogenation with H2 as the primary hydrogen source.
• • The reduction-degree engineering strategy offers a general approach for designing non-precious metal catalysts with tunable selectivity, addressing the bottleneck of controlling hydrogenation pathways in biomass upgrading.