This presentation will cover three new catalytic chemistries developed by my research group for the production biofuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass:

(1) One-pot catalytic conversion of glucose and cellulose to 5-hydromethylfurfural (homogeneous catalysis),
(2) Chemical detoxification to enable production of cellulosic ethanol in the presence of toxic residues from biomass pretreatment (bio-catalysis), and
(3) Selective hydrogenolysis of lignin model compounds to produce phenolics (heterogeneous catalysis).

The innovative approaches that address the long-standing challenges in all these processes and the proposed mechanisms involved in the catalytic chemistries will be discussed.