Harnessing MOF Derived Frustrated Lewis Pair‐CeO ₂ Nano Catalyst for CO ₂ ‐Activated Soft Oxidation of Furfural to Furoic Acid

CO 2 as a soft oxidant is scarcely explored in literature for furfural oxidation to furoic acid, and where CeO 2 , capitalizes on the synergistic effect of FLPs for enhanced CO 2 reduction and furfural oxidation. This study presents a comparative analysis by the synthesis method to produce hydrothermal and MOF‐derived CeO 2 nanocatalyst and their effect on the formation of oxygen vacancies and metastable Ce 3+ ions. The normalized surface concentration derived from XPS At% and specific surface area effectively quantifies accessible Ce 3+ sites and oxygen vacancies, capturing FLP sites. Oxygen vacancies near surface Ce 3+ sites (FLPs) critically modulated the catalytic performance, and evidenced by high turnover number (TON). FTIR adsorption study revealed that CO 2 forms bidentate carbonate species and furfural, bi‐coordination via η 2 ‐ (C, O) mode on the catalyst surface. Further active site masking strategy helped to understand and validate the crucial role of FLPs. The Central Composite Design model was utilized to optimize the reaction conditions and obtained high furfural conversion (99%) and furoic acid selectivity (99%). The catalyst was resistant to active site leaching and exhibited excellent stability, recyclability, and robustness. The findings highlight a potential pathway for the catalytic soft oxidation of furfural to furoic acid by CO 2 utilization.