Efficient and chemoselective hydrogenation of aldehydes catalyzed by a well-defined PN3 -pincer manganese (II) catalyst precursor: an application in furfural conversion

Abstract

Well-defined and air-stable PN3-pincer manganese (II) complexes were synthesized and used for the hydrogenation of aldehydes into alcohols under mild conditions using MeOH as a solvent. This protocol is applicable for a wide range of aldehydes containing various functional groups. Importantly, α,β-unsaturated aldehydes, including ynals, are hydrogenated with the C=C double bond/CΞC triple bond intact. Our methodology was demonstrated for biomass derived feedstock such as furfural and 2,5-diformyl furfural to furfuryl alcohol and 2-hydroxy furfuryl alcohol respectively.