The Stability Challenge of Furanic Platform Chemicals in Acidic and Basic Conditions

The transition toward renewable resources is pivotal for the sustainability of the chemical industry, making the exploration of biobased furanic platform chemicals derived from plant biomass of paramount importance. These compounds, promising alternatives to petroleum-derived aromatics, face challenges in terms of stability under synthetic conditions, limiting their practical application in the fuel, chemical, and pharmaceutical sectors. Our study presents a comprehensive evaluation of the stability of furan derivatives in various solvents and under different conditions, addressing the significant challenge of their instability. Through systematic experiments involving GC-MS, NMR, FT-IR and SEM analyses, we identified key degradation pathways and conditions that either promote stability or lead to undesirable degradation products. These findings demonstrate the strong stabilizing effect of polar aprotic solvents, especially DMF, and reveal the dependence of furan stability on solvent and additive type. This research opens new avenues in the utilization of renewable furans by providing critical insights into their behavior under synthetic conditions, significantly impacting the development of sustainable materials and processes. The broad appeal of this study lies in its potential to guide the selection of conditions for the efficient and sustainable synthesis of furan-based chemicals, marking a significant advance in green chemistry and materials science.