Single Atom Catalysis for Furfural Conversion: Recent Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

Growing global energy demands and the continuous depletion of fossil fuel reserves have intensified interest in renewable alternatives, with biomass emerging as a promising carbon‐neutral resource. Furfural (FF), a pivotal platform molecule from lignocellulosic biomass, enables the production of diverse value‐added chemicals and fuels. Simultaneously, single‐atom catalysts (SACs) have attracted major attention in FF valorization due to their isolated active sites, unique electronic structures, and near‐complete atom utilization, enabling high activity and selectivity in complex reaction networks. This review summarizes recent advances in SAC‐mediated FF upgrading. Significant progress has been made in thermochemical hydrogenation, yielding furfuryl alcohol, tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol, and cyclopentanone derivatives. SACs have also shown strong performance in hydrogenolysis to produce high‐value products such as 2‐methylfuran, 2‐methyltetrahydrofuran, and tetrahydrofuran. Rapid developments in reductive amination have enabled the selective synthesis of pharmaceutical‐relevant amines, including piperidine, particularly using noble‐metal SACs. Although less explored, the selective oxidation of FF to furoic acid and other oxygenates is also highlighted. Emerging electro‐ and photocatalytic FF transformations demonstrate opportunities for integrating renewable electricity or solar energy. Key challenges include improving SAC scalability and stability, tuning coordination environments, and enabling efficient coupling with green‐energy inputs such as electrolytic hydrogen.