Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of neat levulinic acid into 2-methyltetrahydrofuran using a cobalt phosphine complex and Sc(OTf)3 co-catalytic system

2-Methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF) is a biomass-based green solvent that has important applications in organic chemistry. Under solvent-free conditions, we investigated the efficient conversion of biomass platform molecules levulinic acid (LA) and gamma-valerolactone (GVL) into 2-MeTHF. >= 97.0% yields of 2-MeTHF were achieved under relatively mild conditions (150 degrees C and 5 MPa H-2 for 24 h). The study of the reaction pathway showed that the role of Sc(OTf)(3) is to activate GVL as well as to promote the etherification reaction. In addition, studies of the transformation of carbohydrate-derived crude LA into 2-MeTHF demonstrated that the catalytic system is well tolerant to water and other impurities.

Automated summary

2-Methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF) is a biomass-based green solvent with important applications in organic chemistry. Efficient conversion of levulinic acid (LA) and gamma-valerolactone (GVL) into 2-MeTHF was achieved under solvent-free conditions. The catalytic system showed good tolerance to water and other impurities during the transformation of carbohydrate-derived crude LA into 2-MeTHF.