Metal Catalysts for the Efficient Transformation of Biomass-derived HMF and Furfural to Value Added Chemicals

Catalytic transformation of biomass-derived compounds to different platform chemicals and liquid fuel is a prominent way to reduce the global dependence on fossil resources. In past few decades, biomass-derived furans such as 2-furfuraldehyde (furfural) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF) have received outstanding attention because of their wide applications in the production of various industrially important value-added chemicals and fuel components. Various catalytic systems and methodologies have been extensively explored for the transformation of these furans to a wide range of products including open ring diketones, ketoacids, alcohols and long chain alkanes. This Review is aimed to provide an extensive overview of the recent developments of several high-performing heterogeneous catalysts for the catalytic upgradation of the key biomass-derived furans (furfural and HMF) to value-added chemicals. Moreover, the role of these catalysts in the catalytic transformations including hydrogenation, decarbonylation, oxidation, hydrogenolysis and ring opening reactions, and the mechanistic pathways are also highlighted in this Review.