Valorization of biomass related substrates into value added chemicals : Hydrogen transfer catalysis

Abstract: In the current global scenario, it is evident that global warming and climate change are primarily driven by emissions stemming from the utilization of fossil fuels. Yet, if we look around, most of what we see is made from or linked to fossil fuels and it clearly shows our over-dependency on fossil fuels and hence there is a significant need to develop alternate sources of energy and raw materials to tackle these problems. One such alternative to fossil fuels is biomass-based resources however, biomass comes with its own set of challenges, including an abundance of functional groups present in biomass and hence finding new ways to reduce those functional groups in biomass has been a hot topic for chemical researchers in the last decade. This thesis shares the same objective, aiming to convert chemicals derived from biomass into value-added products.In chapter 2, a new and efficient hydrosilylation strategies have been developed to selectively defunctionalize biomass derived levulinic acid into various bio- chemicals and bio-fuels such as gamma-valerolactone, 1,4-pentanediol, 2-pentanol, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and C-5 hydrocarbons using cost-effective and non-toxic silanes and the commercially available B(C6F5)3 as catalyst at room temperature. In chapter 3, attention is directed towards the N-methylation of amines and nitro compounds, a process traditionally accomplished using toxic methylating agents that produce substantial waste. Conversely, within our methodology, the use of methanol as a C1 source for N-methylation is employed through borrowing hydrogen pathways, resulting in the generation of solely water as the byproduct. In chapter 4, C-C and C-N bond forming reactions were performed directly from less- toxic alcohols as substrates without using any transition metal-based catalysts.