Alkali-promoted transition-metal-free oxidative condensation of biomass-derived furfural and alcohols

Abstract

The oxidative condensation of furfural (FUR) with alcohols is considered to be an effective approach for the preparation of liquid transport fuel precursors. In this work, the transition-metal-free oxidative condensation of FUR with alcohols has been introduced, which is achieved by NaOtBu-promoted hydrogen auto-transfer, aerobic dehydrogenation and aldol condensation under atmospheric atmosphere. C3–C10 primary alcohols can be reacted with FUR smoothly to afford C8–C15 condensation products with good to excellent yields at 60–70 °C. Furthermore, the condensation of FUR and C4–C8 secondary alcohols are realized at 25∼40 °C to afford multiple condensation products owing to the multiple active sites of secondary alcohols.