Valorization of biomass-derived furans over molecular catalysts

The development of effective methodologies for the sustainable production of chemicals and biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass has attracted immense attention from the scientific community. However, it is challenging due to the highly complex nature of biomass sources. Over the past few decades, numerous reports targeting various catalytic biomass transformation reactions highlighting the vital role of the catalysts in substrate activation and product selectivity have appeared in the literature. Through this perspective, we present recent advances in metal complexes-based molecular catalysis for transforming biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) and furfural (FAL) to various industrially important chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels. This article focuses on the catalytic transformation of 5-HMF and FAL involving hydrogenation, ring opening, hydrogenolysis, oxidation, and amination over molecular catalysts, to provide insights into the role of molecular catalytic systems explored in biomass transformation and allied areas.