Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) such as lactic acid are considered interesting platform molecules in the biorefinery concept.1 These renewable compounds have high-end applications in green solvents and biodegradable polymers. Our and other groups have investigated the chemocatalytic conversion of sugars into lactate esters, as an alternative to the current laborious fermentative route. Recently, chemocatalytic routes towards the synthesis of AHAs with a four carbon backbone structure have been unveiled as well and their polymerization into novel PLA based polyesters proved possible. Here, we will first discuss i) the conversion of sugars into alkyl lactates with composite catalysts2 and ii) the conversion of tetroses and glycolaldehyde into four carbon AHAs such as methyl vinylglycolate (MVG) and methyl-4-methoxy-2-hydroxybutanoate (MMHB) with Sn cascade catalysis3,4. The lessons learned from these approaches will be used to offer insight into the direct one-pot conversion of cellulose (iii), the most abundant biomass resource, into AHAs and the catalytic needs of the complex cascade of reactions. [1] Dusselier, M. et al. Energy Environ. Sci. 2013, 6, 1415 [2] de Clippel, F. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 10089 [3] Dusselier, M. et al. ChemCatChem 2013, 5, 569 [4] Dusselier, M. et al. ACS Catal. 2013, 3, 1786

Conversion of cellulose to lactates and other alpha-hydroxy esters: Catalytic insight into the cascade reaction

248th National Meeting (2014)

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