Formic acid as renewable reagent and product in biomass upgrading

The problems associated with the use of molecular hydrogen (transportation, storage and high cost) have pushed scientists to the pursuit of efficient hydrogen donors, able to reduce chemical bonds in the presence of catalysts through catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) reactions. In this sense, formic acid stands up as one of the most important and safest chemical molecules for H₂ generation under mild conditions. It can be obtained from biomass through different catalytic transformations and used as well to upgrade biomass to platform chemicals. This review summarizes the recently published studies dealing with formic acid production from biomass (using glucose as representing molecule) along with its use in hydrogen involved reactions of different groups of platform chemicals upgrading.