Conversion of glucose and cellobiose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) by rare earth metal salts in N,N′-dimethylacetamide (DMA)

Homogeneous Catalyzed Valorization of Furanics: A Sustainable Bridge to Fuels and Chemicals

The development of efficient biomass valorization is imperative for the future sustainable production of chemicals and fuels. Particularly, the last decade has witnessed the development of a plethora of effective and selective transformations of bio-based furanics using homogeneous organometallic catalysis under mild conditions. In this review, we describe some of the advances regarding the conversion of target furanics into value chemicals, monomers for high-performance polymers and materials, and pharmaceutical key intermediates using homogeneous catalysis. Finally, the incorporation of furanic skeletons into complex chemical architectures by multifunctionalization routes is also described.

Leather-Promoted Transformation of Glucose into 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural and Levoglucosenone

The search for efficient catalysts frequently leads to new homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts of increasing complexity, and sometimes common, natural, or hybrid natural/synthetic materials that could be used in catalysis are overlooked. For example, the leather industry has produced robust Cr-containing materials for centuries by chemical treatment of animal hides with chromium salts. Herein, the use of chromium-tanned leather as a heterogeneous catalyst for glucose dehydration to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) and levoglucosenone (LGO) is reported. Four pieces of waste leather were obtained from shoe soles and a belt, characterized by a range of techniques including FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, BET surface area measurements, XRD, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and their catalytic activity was evaluated. The activity of the scrap leather pieces compares favorably to those of many recently reported catalysts for the preparation of 5-HMF, but additionally results in significant quantities of LGO. Overall, the results demonstrate that waste leather is an outstanding material for use in catalysis.

Effect of organic solvent and Brønsted acid on 5-hydroxymethylfurfural preparation from glucose over CrCl3

An investigation of the effect of solvent and Brønsted acid on the mechanism of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural preparation from glucose over CrCl₃by experimental and computational study.

A novel route towards high yield 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose catalyzed by a mixture of Lewis and Brönsted acids

The formed fructose-phosphate-AlCl₃ complex dehydrates along the pathway to 5-HMF in the presence of a high proton concentration provided by H₂SO₄, leading to a high yield of 5-HMF.