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2,5-Bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) as well as furfuryl alcohol (FFA) are considered as highly valuable biomass-derived alcohols resembling aromatic monomers in polymer synthesis. Herein, a series of cobaltic nitrogen-doped carbon (Co-NC) catalysts calcinated at different temperatures were synthesized and tested for the solvent-free hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to prepare BHMF. It was found that the Co-NC catalyst calcinated at 600 °C (Co-NC-600) exhibited a superior catalytic activity in the hydrogenation reaction mainly due to the doping of graphitic N, which probably facilitated the polarization of H

Herein, a synthetic pathway to renewable phthalic anhydride (PA) from 5-hydroxymethfurfural (HMF) in one pot is reported. The commonly available catalysts MoO3 and Cu(NO3 )2 play a crucial role in integrating the multiple steps of the reaction, namely decarbonylation of HMF to active furyl intermediate (AFI), oxidation of HMF to maleic anhydride (MA), Diels-Alder cycloaddition of AFI and MA, and subsequent dehydration, in one pot. Under mild reaction conditions, a 63.2 % yield of PA is obtained from HMF. Compared with the currently reported route to renewable PA based on the Diels-Alder cycloaddition of biomass-derived MA and furan, this convenient one-pot synthesis represents a great improvement in efficiency.

5-(Chloromethyl)furfural (CMF), a versatile bio-platform molecule, was first synthesized in a three-constituent deep eutectic solvent (3c-DES) including choline chloride, AlCl3 ⋅ 6H2 O, and oxalic acid. In particular, 3c-DES was conducive for the production of CMF from glucose and provided a CMF yield of 70 % at 120 °C within 30 min. In addition, CMF yields reached up to 86, 80, 30, 29, and 35 % from fructose, sucrose, cellulose, bamboo, and bamboo pulp, respectively. This study opens new avenues for the preparation of CMF.

Renewable and sustainable betaine-based catalysts (BX) derived from the betaine sugar industry or ChCl were developed for the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from various carbohydrates. The HMF yields in the BX-based media reached up to 88 %, 66 %, 37 % and 53 %, for the conversion of fructose, glucose, cellulose, and lignocellulosic biomass, respectively. In addition, choline-O-sulfate was synthesized and demonstrated to be an efficient catalyst for the conversion of fructose to HMF. From the perspective of green and sustainable chemistry, this work demonstrates benefits not only in the preparation of sustainable catalysts but also the green production of HMF from biomass.

A series of MCM-41 supported metal catalysts (denoted M/D41) were prepared by using the deep eutectic solvent (DES)-mediated ionothermal synthesis strategy. Al/D41 was found to have excellent performance in the conversion of carbohydrates into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Furthermore, the production of HMF from glucose could be performed at high concentrations in choline chloride aqueous solution (CAS; 32 wt %, relative to the reaction phase) and as a result, CAS is a more promising solvent than water and DES for HMF production.