title: Homogeneous Catalyzed Reactions of Levulinic Acid: To γ-Valerolactone and Beyond.
abstract: Platform chemicals derived from lignocellulosic plant biomass are viewed as a sustainable replacement for crude oil-based feedstocks. Levulinic acid (LA) is one such biomass-derived chemical that has been widely studied for further catalytic transformation to γ-valerolactone (GVL), an important 'green' fuel additive, solvent, and fine chemical intermediate. Although the transformation of LA to GVL can be achieved using heterogeneous catalysis, homogeneous catalytic systems that operate under milder reactions, give higher selectivities and can be recycled continuously are attracting considerable attention. A range of new homogeneous catalysts have now been demonstrated to efficiently convert LA to GVL and to transform LA directly to other value-added chemicals such as 1,4-pentanediol (1,4-PDO) and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF). This Minireview covers recent advances in the area of homogeneous catalysis for the conversion of levulinic acid and levulinic ester derivatives to GVL and chemicals beyond GVL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Uwaila
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Omoruyi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Page
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hallett
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ, UK. philip.miller@imperial.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Philip W
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8394-2516
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D005663:Furans / Q000737:chemistry; D006018:Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D006865:Hydrogenation; D007783:Lactones / Q000737:chemistry*; D007982:Levulinic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005663:Furans; D006018:Glycols; D007783:Lactones; D007982:Levulinic Acids; C550584:2-methyltetrahydrofuran; C037556:gamma-valerolactone; C032246:levulinic acid
keywords: 2-methyltetrahydrofuran; biomass; catalysis; levulinic acid; γ-valerolactone