Sustainable synthesis of α-ketoglutaric and methanetriacetic acids from biomass feedstocks.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39893175.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-56536-z and PMC identifier 11787342.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
α-Ketoglutaric acid (KGA) and methanetriacetic acid (MTA) are important multi-functional carboxylic acids with versatile applications. However, their synthetic processes are still not green and efficient. Herein, we report a novel one-pot approach for sustainable synthesis of KGA and MTA from biomass-derived pyruvic and glyoxylic acids under mild conditions. KGA is synthesized via cross-aldol condensation of pyruvic and glyoxylic acids to 2-hydroxy-4-oxopentanedioic acid, followed by its sequential dehydration and hydrogenation on Pd/TiO<sub>2</sub>, affording a high yield of 85.4% on a molar basis of glyoxylic acid at 110 °C and 1.0 MPa H<sub>2</sub>. The synthesis of MTA involves cross-aldol condensation of KGA and glyoxylic acid to 3-(carboxymethyl)-2-hydroxy-4-oxopentanedioic acid and its subsequent hydrodeoxygenation on Pd/TiO<sub>2</sub> and MoO<sub>x</sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub> in a high yield of 86.2% at 200 °C and 2.0 MPa H<sub>2</sub>. This novel approach provides a rationale for the sustainable production of various multi-functional carboxylic acids that are still not easily available.