Catalytic conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into furan-2,5-dimethylcarboxylate (FDMC) is of great significance in the production of polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a renewable biomass-derived polymer that can replace the fossil dependent polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Herein, for the first time, we report the synthesis of FDMC from oxidative methyl-esterification of HMF using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as an oxidizing and methylating reagent catalyzed by mesoporous alumina nanospheres-embedded with CuO nanoparticles (CuO/m-Al₂O₃). The CuO/m-Al₂O₃ catalysts with different copper contents were prepared by evaporation-induced self-assembly of a structure-directing agent (Pluronic P-123). The decomposition of P-123 during calcination in air results into the formation of a mesoporous structure with highly dispersed CuO nanoparticles. The as-prepared 6-CuO/m-Al₂O₃ exhibits excellent catalytic activity towards oxidative methyl-esterification of HMF into FDMC with 92% yield and turnover frequency (TOF) of 0.56 h⁻¹. Furthermore, oxidative methyl-esterification of a range of substrates through SP³ CH bond functionalization has also been demonstrated using the same catalyst.

5-羟甲基糠醛（HMF）催化转化为呋喃-2,5-二甲基羧酸酯（FDMC）在生产聚乙烯呋喃酸酯（PEF）中具有重要意义。 ）。在这里，我们首次报道了使用嵌入过氧化氢的介孔氧化铝纳米球（CuO / m-Al）将过氧化叔丁基过氧化氢（TBHP）作为氧化和甲基化试剂，由HMF的氧化甲基酯化合成FDMC。₂ O ₃）。CuO / m-Al ₂ O ₃通过蒸发诱导的结构导向剂（Pluronic P-123）自组装制备了具有不同铜含量的催化剂。在空气中煅烧过程中P-123的分解导致形成具有高度分散的CuO纳米粒子的中孔结构。所制备的6-CuO / m-Al ₂ O ₃表现出对HMF氧化成FDMC的氧化甲基酯化的优异催化活性，产率为92％，转换频率（TOF）为0.56 h ^-1。此外，还已经证明了使用相同的催化剂通过SP ³ C H键官能化对多种底物进行氧化甲基酯化。