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Recent decades have been marked by enormous progress in the field of synthesis and chemistry of 5‐(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF), an important platform chemical widely recognized as the “sleeping giant” of sustainable chemistry. This multifunctional furanic compound is viewed as a strong link for the transition from the current fossil‐based industry to a sustainable one. However, the low chemical stability of HMF significantly undermines its synthetic potential. A possible solution to this problem is synthetic diversification of HMF by modifying it into more stable multifunctional building blocks for further synthetic purposes., Green, renewable, versatile: 5‐(Hydroxymethyl)furfural is a known platform chemical for the transition to sustainable chemical industry. Achilles heel of HMF is its low chemical stability. Here we describe the possibilities of HMF diversification into more stable multifunctional derivatives as a means of increasing the competitiveness of HMF‐based biorefining.

A recent strong trend toward green and sustainable chemistry has promoted the intensive use of renewable carbon sources for the production of polymers, biofuels, chemicals, monomers and other valuable products. The Diels-Alder reaction is of great importance in the chemistry of renewable resources and provides an atom-economic pathway for fine chemical synthesis and for the production of materials. The biobased furans furfural and 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural, which can be easily obtained from the carbohydrate part of plant biomass, were recognized as “platform chemicals” that will help to replace the existing oil-based refining to biorefining. Diels-Alder cycloaddition of furanic dienes with various dienophiles represents the ideal example of a “green” process characterized by a 100% atom economy and a reasonable E-factor. In this review, we first summarize the literature data on the regio- and diastereoselectivity of intermolecular Diels-Alder reactions of furfural derivatives with alkenes with the aim of establishing the current progress in the efficient production of practically important low-molecular-weight products. The information provided here will be useful and relevant to scientists in many fields, including medical and pharmaceutical research, polymer development and materials science.

2-Azidomethyl-5-ethynylfuran, a new ambivalent compound with both azide and alkyne moieties that can be used as a self-clickable monomer, is synthesized starting directly from renewable biomass. The reactivity of the azide group linked to furfural is tested via the efficient preparation of a broad range of furfural-containing triazoles in good to excellent yields using a ‘green’ copper(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition procedure. Access to new bio-based chemicals and oligomeric materials via a click-chemistry approach is also demonstrated using this bio-derived building block.

The first synthesis of tricyclic compounds from biobased 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is described. The Diels–Alder reaction was used to implement the transition from HMF to a non-planar framework, which possessed structural cores of naturally occurring biologically active compounds and building blocks of advanced materials. A one-pot, three-step sustainable synthesis in water was developed starting directly from HMF. The reduction of HMF led to 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF), which could be readily involved in the Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction with HMF-derived maleimide, followed by hydrogenation of the double bond. The described transformation was diastereoselective and proceeded with a good overall yield. The applicability of the chosen approach for the synthesis of analogous structures containing amine functionality on the side chain was demonstrated. To produce the target compounds, only platform chemicals were used with carbohydrate biomass as the single carbon source.