Crystal Phase-Dependence of Ru@TiO2 Catalysts on the Product Selectivity in the Aqueous Phase Hydrogenolysis of Furfuryl Alcohol

Thea Seventina Desiani Bodoi (Department of Chemistry, Lambung Mangkurat University, Jl. A. Yani Km 36,0 Banjarbaru 70714, Banjarbaru)
Shauqi Aulia Rifwanda (Department of Chemistry, Lambung Mangkurat University, Jl. A. Yani Km 36,0 Banjarbaru 70714, Banjarbaru)
Rodiansono Rodiansono (Department of Chemistry, Lambung Mangkurat University, Jl. A. Yani Km 36,0 Banjarbaru 70714, Banjarbaru||Indonesia Catalysis for Sustainable Energy and Environment (CATSuRe), Inorganic Materials and Catalysis (IMCat) Laboratory, Lambung Mangkurat Uni)
Atina Sabila Azzahra (Catalysis for Sustainable Energy and Environment (CATSuRe), Inorganic Materials and Catalysis (IMCat) Laboratory, Lambung Mangkurat University, Jl. A. Yani Km 36,0 Banjarbaru 70714||Indonesia School of Chemistry, Joseph Black Building. University of )
Utami Irawati (Department of Chemistry, Lambung Mangkurat University, Jl. A. Yani Km 36,0 Banjarbaru 70714, Banjarbaru)
Ferensa Oemry (Research Centre for Quantum Physics, BRIN, KST BJ Habibie, Serpong, Tangerang Selatan)
Gagus Ketut Sunnardianto (Research Centre for Quantum Physics, BRIN, KST BJ Habibie, Serpong, Tangerang Selatan)
Indri Badri Adilina (Research Centre for Chemistry, BRIN, KST BJ Habibie, Serpong, Tangerang||Indonesia Research Centre for Catalysis, BRIN, KST BJ Habibie, Serpong, Tangerang)
Takayoshi Hara (Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522)

Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis
2026: BCREC Volume 21 Issue 1 Year 2026 (April 2026)

The crystal phase-dependence of ruthenium supported on titania (Ru@TiO2) catalysts on the product selectivity in the aqueous phase hydrogenolysis of furfuryl alcohol (FFalc) was investigated. The supported ruthenium nanoparticles (RuNPs) catalysts on TiO2 with different phases, c.a. rutile (R), anatase (A), and brookite (B) were employed. The Ru@TiO2(R) catalysed the hydrogenation-rearrangement reaction of furan ring to afford cyclopentanone/cyclopentanol (CPO/CPL) as the main product. The presence of high surface acidity in Ru@TiO2(R) catalyst promoted the hydrogenation-rearrangement of furan ring leading to CPO/CPL as the main product as indicated by NH3-TPD and pyridine-ATR-IR results. In contrast, the Ru@TiO2(A) catalyst selectively hydrogenolysed the furan ring to produce 1,5-pentanediol (1,5-PeD). This high selectivity of 1,5-PeD over Ru@TiO2(A) catalyst may be affected by the high dispersion of Ru NPs on TiO2 facets as depicted by the high H2-uptake and small particle sizes. Copyright © 2026 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).