Valorization of chitin derived N-acetyl-D-glucosamine into N-containing chemical 3-acetamido-5-acetylfuran by a facile, efficient and low cost composite additive

3-Acetylamino-5-acetylfuran (3A5AF) is an important nitrogen-containing platform compound with broad application prospects and high research value. Herein, we report a simple, efficient and economical catalytic system for the synthesis of 3A5AF from sustainable N-acetylglucosamine (NAG). After a series of optimization experiments, composite additive 2SrCl2–B(OH)3 with a synergistic effect was proved to exhibit the best catalytic performance. The influence of solvent, temperature, time and the concentration of NAG on the yield of 3A5AF was also systematically studied. The highest yield (51.9%) was achieved at 180 °C for 60 min in the presence of composite additive 2SrCl2–B(OH)3 under conventional heating conditions. The composite additive was characterized using various analytical techniques including 1H NMR, XRD, and TGA. Moreover, the investigation of reaction pathway was performed using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and LC-MS spectroscopies. This study provided a new perspective for the application of low cost and efficient composite additive in the conversion of sustainable chitin biomass.