Synthesis of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural from Sucrose Catalyzed by Phosphotungstate

Abstract

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is one of the most important biomass-derived platform compounds and can be used to produce various chemicals. The synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) from sucrose catalyzed by a variety of phosphotungstate (Nb0.6PW12O40, Sn0.75PW12O40, CrPW12O40, CePW12O40) has been studied, and the catalysts are characterized by FTIR, XRD, UV-Vis, TGA, NH3-TPD and NMR. The optimum yield of 5-HMF reached 62.54% with 99.3% conversion of sucrose, using Nb0.6PW12O40 in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at 80℃ under 0.1 MPa of N2 with reaction time of 90 min. Moreover, Nb0.6PW12O40 could be reused five times without loss of activity, and the reaction mechanism was proposed. This study has reference significance for carbohydrate conversion to 5-HMF.