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

Abstract

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 γ-valerolactone (GVL) into 2-MeTHF. ≥97.0% yields of 2-MeTHF were achieved under relatively mild conditions (150 °C and 5 MPa H₂ 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.