An improved catalytic system for the reduction of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone

An improved bidentate phosphine-modified recyclable catalytic system was developed for the selective conversion of biomass- derived levulinic acid into γ-valerolactone with a TOF of 21 233 h−1 in solvent-, chlorine- and additive-free reaction environment

Ruthenium-catalyzed solvent-free conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol

Bidentate phosphine-modified Ru-based homogeneous catalyst systems were developed for solvent-free conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol as a versatile biomass-based C5-platform molecule. The effect of ligand structure, ligand concentration, operating pressure and reaction temperature on the catalyst's activity were studied in details. Under optimized conditions complete conversion of furfural to furfurol was achieved in the absence of any solvent and without by-product formation. The maximum turnover frequency (6273 h–1) and 100% atom economy were obtained by using homogeneous Ru/Ph2P(CH2)4PPh2 catalyst, which was recyclable for twelve consecutive runs without affecting catalytic performance of the catalyst

Direct asymmetric reduction of levulinic acid to gamma-valerolactone: synthesis of a chiral platform molecule

Levulinic acid was directly converted to optically active (S)-gamma-valerolactone, a proposed biomass-based chiral platform molecule. By using a SEGPHOS ligand-modified ruthenium catalyst in methanol as a co-solvent, eventually, 100% chemoselectivity, and 82% enantioselectivity were achieved. The effect of the catalyst composition and reaction parameters on the activity and selectivity was investigated in detail. The conversion of a “real” biomass derived levulinic acid to optically active GVL without decreasing the enantioselectivity was also demonstrated