Versatile catalysis of iron: tunable and selective transformation of biomass-derived furfural in aliphatic alcohol

An iron-catalyzed efficient valorization of biomass-derived furfural (FUR) in aliphatic alcohols is developed in which product selectivity can be simply regulated by varying the gas atmosphere. In the presence of molecular oxygen, there is oxidative condensation of FUR with ethanol, and the obtained product is furan-2-acrolein in a "FUR-ethanol-O-2" system. Under suitable conditions, the conversion of FUR and selectivity of furan-2-acrolein are 84.2% and 82.7%, respectively. In the presence of H-2, the selective hydrogenation of FUR is achieved, and the main product is furfuryl alcohol in a "FUR-ethanol-H-2" system. Under optimal conditions, a 99.9% conversion of FUR and 93.6% selectivity of furfuryl alcohol are attained. This provides an economic, green and sustainable method for the utilization of biomass-based platform compounds in the chemical industry.