The Role of Frustrated Lewis Pair in Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation of Furfural using Nickel Single-Atom Catalysts: A Theoretical Study.

The burgeoning field of frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) heterogeneous catalysts has garnered significant interest in recent years, primarily due to their inherent ability to activate H-source molecules, thereby facilitating hydrogenation reactions. In this study, non-precious transition metal atoms were anchored onto several models of pyridinic nitrogen incorporated graphene sheet. Theoretical calculations substantiated energy barriers as low as 0.10 eV for isopropanol activation, thereby positioning these catalysts as highly promising candidates for catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural. Electronic structure analyses revealed that the H-O bond breakage in isopropanol molecules was significantly facilitated by the presence of FLP sites within the catalysts. Notably, both Ni-CN and Ni-N-C demonstrated exceptional potential as selective catalysts for the hydrogenation of furfural into furfuryl alcohol, exhibiting remarkably low barriers of only 0.65-0.72 eV for the rate-determining steps. The findings in this study are helpful to design FLP containing single atom catalysts for hydrogenation reactions.