Highly selective synthesis of 2,5-bis(aminomethyl)furan via catalytic amination of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural with NH3 over a bifunctional catalyst

Abstract

The development of facile protocols for the selective synthesis of biomass-derived diamine is a highly desirable pursuit in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. Herein, a simple and highly efficient bi-functional CuNiAlO_x catalyst was developed for the one pot transformation of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (5-HMF) into 2,5-bis(aminomethyl)furan (BAF) using a two-stage reaction process. Cu₄Ni₁Al₄O_x was found to be the most effective catalyst for this reaction, affording BAF in 85.9% yield. Our results could promote controllable conversion and utilization of biomass resource.