Sulfated zirconia as a solid acid catalyst for the dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

Sulfated zirconia was prepared by impregnation with H2SO4, and was characterized using BET surface area, XRD, TG–DTA and FT-IR techniques. The sulfated zirconia was evaluated as a catalyst for the dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) by microwave heating. With sulfated zirconia catalyst, high fructose conversion of 93.6% with 5-HMF yield of 72.8% could be attained at 180 °C for 20 min reaction time in acetone–dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) mixtures. Sulfated zirconia is an effective catalyst for producing 5-HMF from fructose in non-aqueous solvent but shows low catalytic activity in water solvent.