Efficient Production of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from d-Fructose and Inulin with Graphite Derivatives as the Catalysts

Abstract

The selective conversion of d-fructose and inulin to produce 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) is achieved in the presence of a catalytic amount of graphite derivatives such as graphite oxide (GO), reduced graphite oxide (RGO) and sulfated reduced graphite oxide (G-SO₃H). As a result, a HMF yield of up to 60.8 % from d-fructose and as much as 58.2 % from inulin was obtained in the presence of GO under suitable conditions. The effects of reaction temperature and the time in the dehydration of d-fructose and inulin are investigated in detail. Then, graphite derivatives are detected by IR and XRD techniques to confirm its structure and property. Moreover, GO was further treated by high temperature and strong base/acid which are respectively named as h-GO and n-GO, and their catalytic performances are increased a little in the d-fructose dehydration. This exhibits that graphite derivatives are a kind of promising metal-free catalysts for the selective conversion of biomass feedstocks.

Graphical Abstract