| Summary: | Conversion of biomass-derived furfural (FFA) platform molecule to value-added tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA) molecule is a sustainable route using an efficient non-noble metallic catalyst in water solvent. In this work, Ni in various loadings on mesoporous titanium dioxide (m-TiO<sub>2</sub>) was synthesized in one pot by Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly (EISA). The synthesised catalysts were evaluated for the hydrogenation of furfural to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. The catalysts were characterised using a combination of spectroscopic techniques such as XRD, H<sub>2</sub>-TPR, H<sub>2</sub>-TPD, XPS, SEM-EDX, TEM, and HR-TEM. The characterization results show that the Ni/m-TiO<sub>2</sub> materials exhibit enhanced electron-rich active sites, facilitated hydrogen spillover, uniform dispersion of small Ni particles (~5 nm), and strong metal support interaction between Ni and TiO<sub>2</sub>. Among the various Ni dopings, 7.5 wt.% Ni/m-TiO<sub>2</sub> catalyst exhibited the best performance and achieved 99.9% FFA conversion and 93.2% THFA selectivity in water solvent at 100 °C and under 2 MPa H<sub>2</sub>. Additionally, detailed kinetic studies, process parameters, the stability and reusability of the catalyst were also studied. The results demonstrated that the 7.5 wt.% Ni/m-TiO<sub>2</sub> catalyst is highly active and stable.
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