The present invention provides methods of method of synthesizing 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and FDCA precursor molecules. The methods involve performing a chemical dehydration reaction on a gluconic acid derivative in the presence of a dehydration catalyst. In some embodiments the gluconic acid derivative can be 2-dehydro-3-deoxy gluconic acid (DHG) or an ester thereof, 2-ketogluconic acid (2KGA) or an ester thereof, and 5-ketogluconic acid (5KGA) or an ester thereof. The 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid precursor molecule is thereby synthesized, which can be converted into FDCA. The chemical dehydration can be performed by a variety of acid basic catalysts.