Bifunctional Acid‐Base Zirconium Phosphonate for Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation of Levulinic Acid and Cascade Transformation of Furfural to Biofuel Molecules

Abstract

Abstract The production of biofuels, such as furfural ether and γ‐valerolactone (GVL) from biomass platform chemicals furfural (FFA) and Levulinic acid (LA) is of significant interest. In this study, a nanoporous inorganic‐organic Zr−phosphonate catalyst (ZrNPO 3 ) was synthesized and employed in the selective production of GVL (98.2 %) via catalytic transfer hydrogenation of LA. The catalyst containing acid‐base sites was further used to produce biofuel molecules like GVL and furfuryl ether under a mild reaction condition via cascade furfural transformation. The GVL selectivity was further improved using phosphotungstic acid@ZrNPO 3 . The catalytic optimization studies were combined with poisoning studies and the detailed physicochemical characterization to acquire insight into the structure‐activity correlation and reaction mechanism. The synergistic presence of the Lewis acidity and basicity on the catalyst was responsible for its remarkable activity. Designing a single catalyst for the one‐pot tandem transformation of FFA to GVL would be highly motivating for catalysis researchers and industrialists.