Hydrogenation‐Rearrangement of Biomass‐Derived Furfural to Cyclopentanol in Water over Co/Nb 2 O 5

The Co/Nb 2 O 5 catalyst demonstrated high performance for the hydrogenation‐rearrangement of furfural to cyclopentanol in water, achieving 95.8% selectivity at full conversion. However, in alcoholic solvents, the main product was furfuryl alcohol, and the rearrangement reaction did not proceed. Acidic additives (FeCl 3 , CH 3 COOH) inhibited hydrogenation steps, whereas basic conditions (NaOH, Na 2 CO 3 ) suppressed the rearrangement step. Catalyst deactivation occurred due to Co agglomeration.