Facile pyridinization of bio-based furfural into 3-hydroxypyridines over Raney Fe catalyst

Production of pyridine derivatives from bio-based feedstocks instead of fossil fuels is a promising strategy. The development of effective heterogeneous catalysts and mild reaction systems for pyridinization of renewable biomass derivatives remains a huge challenge. In this article, a direct and environment-friendly method was reported to produce 3-hydroxypyridine from bio-based furfural in water over a Raney Fe catalyst. Raney Fe exhibited an efficient catalytic performance for activation of the aldehyde group of furfural and afforded an 18.2% yield of 3-hydroxypyridine at 120 °C with ammonia as N source. The polymerization of furfural on the catalyst in hot water was the main cause of deactivation, which was verified by the scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and N 2 adsorption and desorption analysis. A possible mechanism for this reaction was also proposed. This study provides a new way for academia and industry to realize the synthesis of nitrogen-containing chemicals from biomass and its derivatives.