Synergistic Effect of Acidic‐Basic Features of Copper‐Doped Layered Double Hydroxides Nanocatalysts in Valorization of Biomass‐Derived Furfural to Biofuels

Valorization of biomass‐derived chemicals into high‐quality compounds and biofuels is enormously fundamental to diminish dependence on fossil‐based resources. Furfural is a bio‐based valuable compound which can be proficiently upgraded to 4‐(2‐furyl)‐3‐buten‐2‐one ( FAc ) and 1,4‐pentadiene‐3‐one, 1,5‐di‐2‐furanyl ( F 2 Ac ) via aldol condensation of furfural with acetone. In the present work, efficient Cu‐doped MgAl layered double hydroxides ( LDH ) nanocatalysts are fabricated by coprecipitation and are exploited for furfural conversion to obtained FAc and F 2 Ac . The structure–activity relationship is scrutinized by characterizing fresh and spent nanocatalysts via numerous techniques. The good correlation between the amount of weak acidic‐weak basic catalytic sites and nanocatalysts performance is established. The superior performance of Cu‐0.1 nanocatalyst (Cu‐content = 1.85 wt%) in aldol condensation is attributed to the presence of optimum weak acidic sites (0.21 mmol g −1 ) and weak basic sites (0.36 mmol g −1 ), synergistic acidic‐basic effect, nano‐sized Cu(OH) 2 nanoparticles (1.6 nm), high BET surface area (181 m 2 g −1 ), and mesoporous architecture of material. Cu‐0.1 nanocatalyst delivered 98% FAc selectivity with 100% furfural conversion at 85 °C. Furthermore, at 100 °C, the nanocatalyst gives 55% F 2 Ac selectivity with 73% furfural conversion. The catalyst displays good recyclability (7 recycles) and stability. Plausible mechanistic pathway for transformation of furfural to FAc and F 2 Ac is proposed.