Inthiswork,MoOxpromotedIr/SiO2catalystswerepreparedandusedfortheselectivehydrogenolysisoftetrahydrofurfurylalcohol(THFA)to1,5-pentanediolinacontinuousflowreactor.Theeffectsofdifferentnoblemetals(Ir,Pt,Pd,Ru,Rh),supportsandIrcontentswerescreened.Amongtheinvestigatedcatalysts,4wt%Ir-MoOx/SiO2withaMo/Iratomicratioof0.13exhibitedthebestcatalyticperformance.ThesynergybetweenIrparticlesandthepartiallyreducedisolatedMoOxspeciesattachedonthemisessentialfortheexcellentcatalyticperformanceofIr-MoOx/SiO2.ThecatalystexhibitedabetterhydrogenolysisefficiencyofTHFAwiththeselectivityof1,5-pentanediolof65%–74%ataconversionofTHFAof70%–75%whentheinitialTHFAconcentrationisrangingfrom20wt%and40wt%.AndhighersystempressurewasalsoinfavoroftheconversionofTHFA.Duringastabilitytest,theconversionofTHFAand1,5-pentanediolyieldoverIr-MoOx/SiO2decreasedwithreactiontime,whichcanbeexplainedbytheleachingofMospeciesduringthereaction.
