Promoting Amination of Furfural to Furfurylamine by Metal-Support Interactions on Pd/MoO Catalysts.

The reductive amination of carbonyl compounds is one of the most straightforward protocols to construct C-N bonds, but highly desires active and selective catalysts. Herein, Pd/MoO catalysts are proposed for furfural amination, in which the interactions between Pd nanoparticles and MoO supports can be easily ameliorated by varying the preparation temperature toward efficient catalytic turnover. Thanks to the synergistic cooperation of Mo -rich MoO and highly dispersed Pd, the optimal catalysts afford the high yield of furfurylamine (84 %) at 80 °C. Thereinto, Mo species not only acts as the acidic promoter to facilitate the activation of carbonyl groups, but also interacts with Pd nanoparticles to promote the subsequent hydrogenolysis of Schiff base N-furfurylidenefurfurylamine and its germinal diamine. The good efficiency of Pd/MoO within a broad substrate scope further highlights the key contribution of metal-support interactions to the refinery of biomass feedstocks.