The thousand faces of Cu-doped porous mixed oxides (Cu-PMO) in the conversion of renewable resources and beyond

Copper doped porous metal oxides derived from synthetic hydrotalcites are an intriguing, noble metal free class of solid bases that have shown remarkable properties in the field of biomass valorization and beyond. Notably, given their activity in several reductive catalytic events, these classes of compounds are suitable catalysts for the depolymerization and further deoxygenation of lignocellulosic biomass and derived components. Notably, copper doped porous metal oxides have shown activity in methanol reforming under higher temperatures, thus the combination with supercritical methanol provides a unique catalytic environment for the very efficient processing of a wide range of renewable resources, platform chemicals but also raw lignocellulose. In this chapter, we describe our recent advances on the use of copper doped porous metal oxides of various compositions, including also other metal dopants, in various areas of biomass conversion chemistry and beyond.