@article {49917,
	title = {Synergistic effect of acidic-basic features of copper-doped layered double hydroxides nanocatalysts in valorization of biomass-derived furfural to biofuels},
	journal = {ChemPlusChem},
	volume = {90},
	year = {2025},
	month = {DEC},
	pages = {e202500416},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>
	Valorization of biomass-derived chemicals into high-quality compounds and biofuels is enormously fundamental to diminish dependence on fossil-based resources. Furfural is a bio-based valuable compound which can be proficiently upgraded to 4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one (FAc) and 1,4-pentadiene-3-one, 1,5-di-2-furanyl (F 2 Ac) via aldol condensation of furfural with acetone. In the present work, efficient Cu-doped Mg-Al layered double hydroxides (LDH) nanocatalysts are fabricated by coprecipitation and are exploited for furfural conversion to obtained FAc and F 2 Ac. The structure-activity relationship is scrutinized by characterizing fresh and spent nanocatalysts via numerous techniques. The good correlation between the amount of weak acidic-weak basic catalytic sites and nanocatalysts performance is established. The superior performance of Cu-0.1 nanocatalyst (Cu-content = 1.85 wt\%) in aldol condensation is attributed to the presence of optimum weak acidic sites (0.21 mmol g-1) and weak basic sites (0.36 mmol g-1), synergistic acidic-basic effect, nano-sized Cu(OH) 2 nanoparticles (1.6 nm), high BET surface area (181 m2 g-1), and mesoporous architecture of material. Cu-0.1 nanocatalyst delivered 98\% FAc selectivity with 100\% furfural conversion at 85 degrees C. Furthermore, at 100 degrees C, the nanocatalyst gives 55\% F 2 Ac selectivity with 73\% furfural conversion. The catalyst displays good recyclability (7 recycles) and stability. Plausible mechanistic pathway for transformation of furfural to FAc and F 2 Ac is proposed.</p>
},
	keywords = {Aldol condensation, biofuels, biomass valorization, nanocatalysis, synergistic effect},
	issn = {2192-6506},
	doi = {10.1002/cplu.202500416},
	author = {Gode, Nilesh G. and Nagpure, Atul S. and Rewatkar, Suresh B. and Bhagat, Shailesh K. and Deshmukh, Ganpat D. and Saini, Ajay}
}
