Low-temperature and solvent-free production of biomass-derived diesel-range C17 precursor via one-pot cascade acylation–alkylation over Sn4+-montmorillonite

A novel carbon-increasing catalytic route via one-pot cascade acylation–alkylation of biomass-derived 2-methylfuran and acetic anhydride over Sn 4+ -exchanged K-10 montmorillonite (Sn 4+ -K-10) was demonstrated to be highly efficient for the production of C 17 oxygenate 1,1,1-tris(5-methyl-2-furyl)ethane with a high yield of 87% and 90% selectivity at 60   °C in 8   h under solvent-free conditions. Characterization techniques manifested Sn 4+ -K-10 to have layered and mesoporous (5.7   nm) texture structure, Lewis–Brønsted acid paired sites and uniformly dispersed Sn species, which greatly contributed to the predominant reactivity and recyclability of Sn 4+ -K-10. Systematic studies based on GC–MS and NMR were also conducted to elucidate the catalytic mechanism.