Eco-friendly preparation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from sucrose using ion-exchange resins

•Conversion of sucrose into 5-HMF was achieved in 4 steps using ion exchange resins.•Unprecedented dehydration of fructose took place with Amberlite IR120(H+) resin.•Glucose/fructose isomerization was analyzed using Amberlite IRA-400(OH-) resin.•Catalysts were reused for the hydrolysis, dehydration and isomerization steps.•Chromatographic purification is avoided in the isolation of pure 5-HMF.

An efficient preparation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from sucrose, a renewable resource, is reported herein, following a sequence of four steps catalyzed by reusable cation- and anion-exchange resins: hydrolysis, dehydration, glucose/fructose isomerisation and dehydration. The title compound, a key building block in current industrial chemistry, was isolated in its pure form without chromatographic purification in an overall yield of 50%.

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