Nature produces ∼170 billion tons of biomass per year; meanwhile, only a small percentage is used. Cellulose is the most abundant component in biomass; thus, the selective transformation of cellulose to high-value-added products is one of the most promising pathways to sustainable society. Here, we report an N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed umpolung of 5-(chloromethyl)furfural, which is easily obtained from cellulose, and its subsequent reaction with ketones is developed, giving the corresponding highly functionalized products in good yields. We believe that this carbene-catalyzed transformation of 5-(chloromethyl)furfural will facilitate the development of biomass transformations.

大自然每年产生约1700亿吨生物量；同时，仅使用很小的百分比。纤维素是生物质中最丰富的成分。因此，纤维素向高附加值产品的选择性转化是实现可持续社会的最有希望的途径之一。在这里，我们报道了很容易从纤维素中获得的N-杂环卡宾催化的5-（氯甲基）糠醛化合物，并开发了其与酮的反应，从而以良好的收率得到了相应的高度官能化的产物。我们认为，这种卡宾催化的5-（氯甲基）糠醛转化将促进生物量转化的发展。