Mesoporous Nb2O5 as solid acid catalyst for dehydration of d-xylose into furfural

• Mesoporous niobium oxide is active in acid-catalyzed dehydration of xylose.
• Xylose conversions higher than 70% were obtained after 45 min at 140 °C.
• At 170 °C and 90 min, a maximum furfural yield of 50% was achieved.
• No leaching of niobia was detected in the reaction medium.

The acid-catalyzed dehydration of d-xylose to furfural has been investigated in a biphasic water–toluene system, using a mesoporous Nb2O5 catalyst prepared by a neutral templating route. The catalytic behavior was compared with a commercial Nb2O5. Materials were characterized by XRD, XPS, TEM, NH3-TPD, Raman spectroscopy and N2 sorption. The d-xylose conversion and furfural yield over the mesoporous niobia were found to increase with reaction temperature and time, in such a way that at 170 °C and 90 min, a d-xylose conversion and a furfural yield were higher than 90% and 50%, respectively. However, the commercial crystalline niobia displayed a low activity. The stability of the mesoporous catalyst has been demonstrated by XRD and N2 sorption, and corroborated by the absence of significant niobium leaching in solution.

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