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Regardless of their size, supported gold nanoparticles are largely used for liquid-phase oxidation reactions. Small gold nanoparticles exhibit good performance during the reduction of organic compounds. The direct reduction of carboxylic acid to aldehyde is a famous and familiar reaction in the field of organic chemistry and is considered as one of the fundamental chemical transformations. Herein, we present Au/hydrotalcite, Au/MgO, and Au/Al2O3 systems as heterogeneous versatile catalysts to realize the oxidation of furfural (FF) to furoic acid (FA) and realize the reduction of FA to FF. Experiments showed that in standard aqueous conditions under air, FF can be easily oxidized to FA. When DMSO was used as a solvent to conduct the experiments under an atmosphere of CO2, FA was reduced to FF. The Au/HT series of catalysts was found to be active in both transformations, pointing out the versatility of the gold-based catalysts. The activity significantly depends on the acid-base properties of the catalyst.

The high life expectancy of the world population provokes increase in demand for food and energy. As a result, the intense industrialization and the application of fossil sources is responsible for high levels of CO2 emission and waste generation. To mitigate the CO2 emission a practical solution at the very short term is urgently needed. The capture of CO2 and its application in chemical processes for the valorization of residual biomass are of great importance nowadays. The application of CO2 in the selective carboxylation of furoic acid for the production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a bio-based monomer, has been an important step towards obtaining biopolymers to replace petroleum-based plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In this project report, we discuss on the current challenges for obtaining the 2,5-FDCA precursor from the furfural in two main routes involving oxidation and carboxylation via heterogeneous catalysis. We present the main objectives and discuss the importance of this research for the development of more sustainable processes.

The use of noble metals in heterogeneous catalysis is limited by the scarcity of these metals, their cost and the supply difficulties due to the monopole of only two countries on the world market. The aim of this work consisted to study the association of platinum and cobalt in order to substitute partly Pt with Co while preserving the catalytic performances of the noble metal in hydrogenation. Various syntheses of 1%Pt- 5%Co supported bimetallic catalysts have been achieved and their performances have been compared with those of monometallic catalysts as well as (Pt + Co) mechanical mixtures for two hydrogenation’s reactions of industrial interest: the hydrogenation of acetonitrile and that of furfural. The physicochemical characterizations carried out (TEM, XPS …) and the model reactions (dehydrogenation of cyclohexane, hydrogenolysis of methylcyclopentane) studied have pointed out several results: - the presence of Pt increases the reducibility of Co for co-impregnated catalysts and mechanical mixtures leading to an enhancement of the catalytic performances in hydrogenation of acetonitrile or furfural; - the colloidal preparation favors the formation of PtCo alloy particles with a homogeneous composition, which are not very active for the reactions studied; - the redox route synthesis can accurately deposit Pt in contact with Co creating an improvement of the catalytic performances by a synergistic effect. Thus, in the hydrogenation of acetonitrile, the same activity was obtained by using a Pt-Co catalyst containing five times less noble metal’s content than the 1% Pt catalysts.; L’utilisation des métaux nobles en catalyse hétérogène est limitée par la rareté de ces métaux, leur coût et les difficultés d’approvisionnement, le marché mondial étant régi par deux producteurs. Le but de ce travail a consisté à étudier l’association du platine et du cobalt afin de substituer en partie Pt par Co tout en préservant les propriétés catalytiques du métal noble en hydrogénation. Différentes synthèses de catalyseurs bimétalliques 1%Pt-5%Co supportés (coimprégnation, voie redox et voie colloïdale) ont été réalisées et les performances de ces catalyseurs comparées à celles des catalyseurs monométalliques et des mélanges mécaniques (Pt + Co) pour deux réactions d’hydrogénation d’intérêt industriel : l’hydrogénation de l’acétonitrile et celle du furfural. Les caractérisations par des techniques physicochimiques (MET, XPS, …) ou par réactions modèles (déshydrogénation du cyclohexane, hydrogénolyse du méthylcyclopentane) ont permis d’obtenir les résultats suivants : - la présence de Pt augmente la réductibilité du Co pour les catalyseurs coimprégnés ou pour les mélanges mécaniques, ce qui permet d’améliorer les performances catalytiques en hydrogénation du furfural ou de l’acétonitrile ;- la préparation par voie colloïdale oriente vers la formation de particules PtCo de type alliage de composition homogène, peu actives pour les réactions étudiées ;- la synthèse par voie redox permet de déposer précisément le platine au contact du cobalt créant un effet synergétique bénéfique. Il est ainsi possible d’obtenir la même activité que le platine seul en hydrogénation de l’acétonitrile mais avec un catalyseur PtCo présentant une quantité de Pt cinq fois moins importante.