Studies on the Reactions of Lactone Intermediates Derived from Levulinic Acid: Telescoped Routes to Higher Levulinate Ester Biofuels.

ABSTRACT: The development of efficient strategies for the synthesis of levulinate esters is of significant current interest due to their potential as biofuels and fuel additives. Herein, we report a novel strategy to access levulinate esters derived from higher alcohols directly from levulinic acid through the in situ generation of lactone intermediates employing commercial heterogeneous catalysts, such as Amberlyst-15. This strategy employs a telescoped approach in which the lactonization/ring-opening reactions are combined into an operationally simple one-pot procedure. This strategy is advantageous as it employs a readily available and inexpensive catalyst and proceeds in short reaction times to produce excellent yields of higher levulinate esters with high selectivity. Furthermore, the Amberlyst

SUBMITTER: Aldred MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12004174 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature