Set of Acidic Resin Catalysts To Correlate Structure and Reactivity in Fructose Conversion to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

Mesoporous Porphyrin-Silica Nanocomposite as Solid Acid Catalyst for High Yield Synthesis of HMF in Water

Solid acid catalysts occupy a special class in heterogeneous catalysis for their efficiency in eco-friendly conversion of biomass into demanding chemicals. We synthesized porphyrin containing porous organic polymers (PorPOPs) using colloidal silica as a support. Post-modification with chlorosulfonic acid enabled sulfonic acid functionalization, and the resulting material (PorPOPS) showed excellent activity and durability for the conversion of fructose to 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) in green solvent water. PorPOPS composite was characterized by N2 sorption, FTIR, TGA, CHNS, FESEM, TEM and XPS techniques, justifying the successful synthesis of organic networks and the grafting of sulfonic acid sites (5 wt%). Furthermore, a high surface area (260 m2/g) and the presence of distinct mesopores of ~15 nm were distinctly different from the porphyrin containing sulfonated porous organic polymer (FePOP-1S). Surprisingly the hybrid PorPOPS showed an excellent yield of HMF (85%) and high selectivity (>90%) in water as compared to microporous pristine-FePOP-1S (yield of HMF = 35%). This research demonstrates the requirement of organic modification on silica surfaces to tailor the activity and selectivity of the catalysts. We foresee that this research may inspire further applications of biomass conversion in water in future environmental research.

Controlling the Reaction Networks for Efficient Conversion of Glucose into 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

Biomass-derived hexose constitutes the main component of lignocellulosic biomass for producing value-added chemicals and biofuels. However, the reaction network of hexose is complicated, which makes the highly selective synthesis of one particular product challenging in biorefinery. This Review focuses on the selective production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from glucose on account of its potential significance as an important platform molecule. The complex reaction network involved in glucose-to-HMF transformations is briefly summarized. Special emphasis is placed on analyzing the complexities of feedstocks, intermediates, (side-) products, catalysts, solvents, and their impacts on the reaction network. The strategies and representative examples for adjusting the reaction pathway toward HMF by developing multifunctional catalysts and promoters, taking advantage of solvent effects and process intensification, and synergizing all measures are comprehensively discussed. An outlook is provided to highlight the challenges and opportunities faced in this promising field. It is expected to provide guidance to design practical catalytic processes for advancing HMF biorefinery.

Polyphenylene-Based Solid Acid as an Efficient Catalyst for Activation and Hydration of Alkynes

Porous polymer catalysts possess the potential to combine the advantages of heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis, namely, easy postreaction recycling and high dispersion of active sites. Here, we designed a -SO3H functionalized polyphenylene (PPhen) framework with purely sp2-hybridized carbons, which exhibited high activity in the hydration of alkynes including challenging aliphatic substrates such as 1-octyne. The superiority of the structure lies in its covalent crosslink in the xy-plane with a π-π stacking interaction between the planes, enabling simultaneously high swellability and porosity (653 m2·g-1). High acidic site density (2.12 mmol·g-1) was achieved under a mild sulfonation condition. Similar turnover frequencies (0.015 ± 0.001 min-1) were obtained regardless of acidic density and crosslink content, suggesting high accessibility for all active sites over PPhen. In addition, the substituted benzene groups can activate alkynes through a T-shape CH/π interaction, as indicated by the 8 and 16 cm-1 red shift of the alkyne C-H stretching peak for phenylacetylene and 1-octyne, respectively, in the infrared (IR) spectra. These advantages render PPhen-SO3H a promising candidate as a solid catalyst replacing the highly toxic liquid phase acids such as the mercury salt.

Importance of the synergistic effects between cobalt sulfate and tetrahydrofuran for selective production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from carbohydrates

CoSO₄/THF can selectively catalyze conversion of fructose to HMF, which is a cost-effective route for production and separation of HMF.

Sulfonated covalent triazine-based frameworks as catalysts for the hydrolysis of cellobiose to glucose

Covalent triazine-based frameworks (CTFs) were synthesized in large scale from various monomers. The materials were post-synthetically modified with acid functionalities via gas-phase sulfonation. Acid capacities of up to 0.83 mmol g-1 at sulfonation degrees of up to 10.7 mol% were achieved. Sulfonated CTFs exhibit high specific surface area and porosity as well as excellent thermal stability under aerobic conditions (>300 °C). Successful functionalization was verified investigating catalytic activity in the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of cellobiose to glucose at 150 °C in H2O. Catalytic activity is mostly affected by porosity, indicating that mesoporosity is beneficial for hydrolysis of cellobiose. Like other sulfonated materials, S-CTFs show low stability under hydrothermal reaction conditions. Recycling of the catalyst is challenging and significant amounts of sulfur leached out of the materials. Nevertheless, gas-phase sulfonation opens a path to tailored solid acids for application in various reactions. S-CTFs form the basis for multi-functional catalysts, containing basic coordination sites for metal catalysts, tunable structural parameters and surface acidity within one sole system.

Niobium phosphotungstates: excellent solid acid catalysts for the dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural under mild conditions

A 5-HMF yield of 96.7% was obtained over an excellent heterogeneous catalyst NbPW-06 in DMSO at 80 °C.

Heterogeneously Catalyzed Hydrothermal Processing of C5-C6 Sugars

Biomass has been long exploited as an anthropogenic energy source; however, the 21st century challenges of energy security and climate change are driving resurgence in its utilization both as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels and as a sustainable carbon feedstock for chemicals production. Deconstruction of cellulose and hemicellulose carbohydrate polymers into their constituent C₅ and C₆ sugars, and subsequent heterogeneously catalyzed transformations, offer the promise of unlocking diverse oxygenates such as furfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, and gluconic acid as biorefinery platform chemicals. Here, we review recent advances in the design and development of catalysts and processes for C₅-C₆ sugar reforming into chemical intermediates and products, and highlight the challenges of aqueous phase operation and catalyst evaluation, in addition to process considerations such as solvent and reactor selection.

Investigation of the Hydrogenation of 5-Methylfurfural by Noble Metal Nanoparticles in a Microcapillary Reactor

On-column reaction gas chromatography (ocRGC) was successfully utilized as high-throughput platform for monitoring of the conversion and selectivity of hydrogenation of 5-methylfurfural catalyzed by polymer-stabilized Ru and Pd nanoparticles. We were able to elucidate the effect of various reaction conditions, mainly together with the catalyst loading on the conversion rate and the selectivity of the reaction. Our strategy yields significant improvements in reaction analysis times and cost effectiveness in comparison to standard methods. We are able to demonstrate that ocRGC approach provides valuable information about the reaction system that gives scientists a tool to design suitable catalytic systems for enhanced sustainable chemistry in the future.

Niobium phytate prepared from phytic acid and NbCl5: a highly efficient and heterogeneous acid catalyst

Niobium phytate, designed from phytic acid and NbCl₅, showed high activity for cyanosilylation of carbonyl compounds and dehydration of carbohydrates.

Heterogeneous Nb-containing catalyst/N,N-dimethylacetamide–salt mixtures: novel and efficient catalytic systems for the dehydration of fructose

Heterogeneous Nb-containing catalyst/N,N-dimethylacetamide–salt mixtures could be used as an efficient catalytic system for the dehydration of fructose to produce 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.

Sulfonic acid-functionalized mesoporous carbon/silica as efficient catalyst for dehydration of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

Sulfonic acid-functionalized mesoporous carbon/silica materials have been used as catalysts for the catalytic dehydration of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and show high catalytic activity.