Niobium phosphotungstates: excellent solid acid catalysts for the dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural under mild conditions.

ABSTRACT: The efficient conversion of carbohydrates to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) under mild conditions represents a very attractive and promising method of producing important building blocks. In this work, niobium phosphotungstates, with Nb/P molar ratios of 0.6, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 (NbPW-06, NbPW-1, NbPW-2, and NbPW-4, respectively) have been prepared by a facile, one-pot, alcohol-mediated thermal process and used for the direct conversion of fructose to 5-HMF. By adding a certain amount of Nb, the surface of the catalyst became enriched in P, and this enrichment was associated with the presence of surface P-OH groups that offered Brønsted acid sites that can activate superficial hydrogen species to facilitate 5-HMF generation. Pyridine-FTIR confirmed the presence of Brønsted and Lewis acid sit

SUBMITTER: Qiu G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9086268 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature