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The selective hydrogenation of furfural (FAL) to furfuryl alcohol (FOL) under mild conditions using a non-noble metal catalyst is highly desirable in biomass conversion. Commercial FOL production over a Cu-based catalyst suffers from harsh reaction conditions and significant deactivation due to catalyst instability. Herein, we report stable Cu nanoparticles encapsulated in a few layers of carbon prepared by the pyrolysis of the metal–organic framework HKUST-1 in H2/Ar, which exhibited excellent catalytic performance and stability in FAL hydrogenation under visible light irradiation. The Cu nanoparticles could absorb visible light and generate photoexcited electrons due to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect, and these electrons transferred the energy to the molecules absorbed on the Cu NP surface, inducing effective dissociation of H2and hydrogenation of FAL. This study provides guidance for designing stable Cu-based LSPR photocatalysts and a mild route for biomass conversion in compliance with green chemistry.

KTi3NbO9nanoparticles were fabricated viaa simple hydrothermal method with a post-calcination treatment. The nitrogen doping (N-KTi3NbO9) leads to a narrow band gap, which in turn facilitates efficiently catalysis of imine deamination under purple light that matches its absorption spectra. Furthermore, N-KTi3NbO9exhibits excellent performance in the tandem reaction of photocatalytic imine formation and deamination from various amines. The conversion of benzylamine was up to 100% with >85% benzaldehyde selectivity.

A high aniline yield was achieved by the combination of near-UV light as the driving force of nitrobenzene reduction and a ZnNb2O6surface as the product-selective controller. Here, a ZnNb2O6fibre, having a wide band gap and both acidic and basic sites, was exploited by a novel ion-exchange method to study the effect of the surface acidity and basicity of catalysts on the product selectivity under near-UV light irradiation without the interference of photo-generated carriers. ZnNb2O6showed the highest aniline yield compared to Nb2O5and ZnO. The results of experimental and theoretical calculations confirmed that the acidic sites on the surface of ZnNb2O6promoted the breakage of the N–O bond in the intermediate phenylhydroxylamine while the basic sites were attached to the dissociated hydrogen of isopropyl alcohol, resulting in high aniline selectivity.