High selective production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose by sulfonic acid functionalized SBA-15 catalyst

A mesoporous SBA-15 supported sulfonic acid catalyst (SBA-15-SO3H) was successfully prepared and used for the selective conversion of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Up to 96% of HMF selectivity with 100% fructose conversion was obtained under mild conditions (120 °C, 60 min, DMSO as solvent). Solvent effect, reaction time, reaction temperature and fructose-to-catalysts mass ratio have been investigated. The SBA-15-SO3H solid acid catalyst can be separated from the reaction mixture after reaction and reused by simple centrifugalization, and 100% fructose conversion with 95% HMF yield could be retained. Further, reaction activation energy of 56.4 kJ/mol has been fitted with kinetic analysis, which means that the dehydration of fructose into HMF is relative easier over SBA-15-SO3H catalyst in this work. Besides, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements reveal that the -SO3H grafting on the SBA-15 surface have no obvious influence on its mesoporous structure even after five catalytic cycles, and acid site measurements demonstrate that there was no significant loss of acid site concentration, indicating high catalytic stability. This fruit give a useful reference to chemical engineering and materials, besides future energy and smart city.