Carbonate-Catalyzed Room-Temperature Selective Reduction of Biomass-Derived 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural into 2,5-Bis(hydroxymethyl)furan

Abstract

Catalytic reduction of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), deemed as one of the key bio-based platform compounds, is a very promising pathway for the upgrading of biomass to biofuels and value-added chemicals. Conventional hydrogenation of HMF is mainly conducted over precious metal catalysts with high-pressure hydrogen. Here, a highly active, sustainable, and facile catalytic system composed of K2CO3, Ph2SiH2, and bio-based solvent 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF) was developed to be efficient for the reduction of HMF. At a low temperature of 25 °C, HMF could be completely converted to 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) in a good yield of 94% after 2 h. Moreover, a plausible reaction mechanism was speculated, where siloxane in situ formed via hydrosilylation was found to be the key species responsible for the high reactivity.