Efficient and selective conversion of sucrose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural promoted by ammonium halides under mild conditions

The highly efficient and selective production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from sucrose has been achieved in the presence of metal chlorides and ammonium halides under mild conditions. Notably, an 87% yield of HMF from sucrose was obtained with a catalyst system composed of CrCl3 and NH4Br at 100 °C for 1.0 h in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) solvent. The effect of the reaction temperature and time was investigated in detail, and a possible mechanism for this catalytic process has been proposed. In addition, NH4Br is an effective promoter in the conversion of glucose and fructose to HMF.

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► Efficient production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from sucrose is achieved.
► The catalytic system includes ammonium bromide and chromium chloride.
► An 87% yield of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural has been obtained.
► Possible reaction mechanism is proposed.