659
3 Conclusions
Nanocomposite materials have developed as green and sustainable nano-catalysts to
offer new opportunities for the growth of the chemical industry. Thus, the majority
of the developments toward a better understanding of metal-based nanocomposites
in terms of their catalytic role in a particular reaction are discussed in this chapter.
The metal-metal oxide nanocomposite catalysts are successfully described for the
selective transformation of the furanics to biofuels and value-added chemicals. The
nanocomposites exhibited an enhanced physicochemical and structural properties
due to the combination of different types of components, formation of the active
site, the superior catalytic activity, and selectivity toward the desired product.
Especially, these materials have shown a high specific surface area, smaller particle
size, more numbers of acid-base sites, high thermal stability, and recyclability. We
also illustrated the general reaction pathways for the selective transformation of the
furanics into the desired product.
Acknowledgment Dr. Mallesham Baithy is gratefully acknowledged with the award of postdoctoral fellowship by Scientific and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and
Technology, Government of India, under the National Postdoctoral Scheme (SERB-DST, NPDF
Scheme, Sanction Letter No: PDF/2018/002244, dated: 26/03/2019).
References
1. Li X, Jia P, Wang T (2016) Furfural: a promising platform compound for sustainable production of C 4 and C 5 chemicals. ACS Catal 6:7621–7640
2. Nakagawa Y, Tamura M, Tomishige K (2013) Catalytic reduction of biomass-derived furanic
compounds with hydrogen. ACS Catal 3:2655–2668
3. Perez RF, Fraga MA (2014) Hemicellulose-derived chemicals: one-step production of furfuryl alcohol from xylose. Green Chem 16:3942–3950
4. Biswas P, Lin J-H, Kang J, Guliants VV (2014) Vapor phase hydrogenation of 2-methylfuran
over noble and base metal catalysts. Appl Catal A Gen 475:379–385
5. Alonso-Fagúndez N, Granados ML, Mariscal R, Ojeda M (2012) Selective conversion of furfural to maleic anhydride and furan with VO x/Al 2 O 3 catalysts. Chem Sus Chem 5:1984–1990
Table 9 Summary of Claisen-Schmidt condensation of furfural and 5-HMF using different
catalysts
Entry Substrates
Reaction condition Catalyst
Performance
Refs.
Conv.
(%)
Sel.
(%)
Yield
(%)
1.
HMF and AcPh
(1:1)
90 °C, 5 h,
EtOH:H2O:1:1
HTc
99
100
99
[37]
2.
FUR and AcPh
(1:2)
120 °C, 2 h
15 w%
Al 2 O 3 /CaO
98.5
100
98.5
[38]
Efficient Nanocomposite Catalysts for Sustainable Production of Biofuels and…
3 Conclusions
Nanocomposite materials have developed as green and sustainable nano-catalysts to
offer new opportunities for the growth of the chemical industry. Thus, the majority
of the developments toward a better understanding of metal-based nanocomposites
in terms of their catalytic role in a particular reaction are discussed in this chapter.
The metal-metal oxide nanocomposite catalysts are successfully described for the
selective transformation of the furanics to biofuels and value-added chemicals. The
nanocomposites exhibited an enhanced physicochemical and structural properties
due to the combination of different types of components, formation of the active
site, the superior catalytic activity, and selectivity toward the desired product.
Especially, these materials have shown a high specific surface area, smaller particle
size, more numbers of acid-base sites, high thermal stability, and recyclability. We
also illustrated the general reaction pathways for the selective transformation of the
furanics into the desired product.
Acknowledgment Dr. Mallesham Baithy is gratefully acknowledged with the award of postdoctoral fellowship by Scientific and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and
Technology, Government of India, under the National Postdoctoral Scheme (SERB-DST, NPDF
Scheme, Sanction Letter No: PDF/2018/002244, dated: 26/03/2019).
References
1. Li X, Jia P, Wang T (2016) Furfural: a promising platform compound for sustainable production of C 4 and C 5 chemicals. ACS Catal 6:7621–7640
2. Nakagawa Y, Tamura M, Tomishige K (2013) Catalytic reduction of biomass-derived furanic
compounds with hydrogen. ACS Catal 3:2655–2668
3. Perez RF, Fraga MA (2014) Hemicellulose-derived chemicals: one-step production of furfuryl alcohol from xylose. Green Chem 16:3942–3950
4. Biswas P, Lin J-H, Kang J, Guliants VV (2014) Vapor phase hydrogenation of 2-methylfuran
over noble and base metal catalysts. Appl Catal A Gen 475:379–385
5. Alonso-Fagúndez N, Granados ML, Mariscal R, Ojeda M (2012) Selective conversion of furfural to maleic anhydride and furan with VO x/Al 2 O 3 catalysts. Chem Sus Chem 5:1984–1990
Table 9 Summary of Claisen-Schmidt condensation of furfural and 5-HMF using different
catalysts
Entry Substrates
Reaction condition Catalyst
Performance
Refs.
Conv.
(%)
Sel.
(%)
Yield
(%)
1.
HMF and AcPh
(1:1)
90 °C, 5 h,
EtOH:H2O:1:1
HTc
99
100
99
[37]
2.
FUR and AcPh
(1:2)
120 °C, 2 h
15 w%
Al 2 O 3 /CaO
98.5
100
98.5
[38]
Efficient Nanocomposite Catalysts for Sustainable Production of Biofuels and…