Development of TiO2-Carbon Composite Acid Catalyst for Dehydration of Fructose to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

Morongwa Songo,Suprakas Ray,Richard Moutloali

doi:10.3390/catal9020126

Abstract

A TiO2-Carbon (TiO2C) composite was prepared using the microwave-assisted method and sulfonated using fuming sulfuric acid to produce a TiO2C solid acid catalyst. The prepared solid acid catalyst was characterised using scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Crystallinity analysis confirmed that TiO2C has an anatase structure, while analysis of its morphology showed a combination of spheres and particles with a diameter of 50 nm. The TiO2C solid acid catalyst was tested for use in the catalytic dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). The effect of reaction time, reaction temperature, catalyst dosage, and solvent were investigated against the 5-HMF yield. The 5-HMF yield was found to be 90% under optimum conditions. The solid acid catalyst is very stable and can be reused for four catalytic cycles. Hence, the material has great potential for use in industrial applications and can be used for the direct conversion of fructose to 5-HMF because of its high activity and high reusability.

Highlights

Increase in the usage of fossil fuels for the production of chemicals and energy has caused a rise in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, and water pollution, thereby contributing to the growing number of serious health issues
The HMF dehydration increased as the TiO2 content increased. These results suggest that dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a suitable solvent for use in the dehydration of fructose into alcoholic solvents produced a low 5-HMF yield of
Among the solvents tested for use in the dehydration of fructose into 5-HMF, DMSO performed the best in terms of 5-HMF dehydration

Summary

Introduction

Increase in the usage of fossil fuels for the production of chemicals and energy has caused a rise in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, and water pollution, thereby contributing to the growing number of serious health issues These side effects have spurred researchers to look for alternative ways of producing valuable chemicals and energy using sustainable and renewable resources. The use of homogeneous catalysts produces high fructose conversion and high dehydrations of 5-HMF, there are drawbacks with regard to separation, recycling, and equipment corrosion [5,6]. Heterogeneous acid catalysts such as mesoporous zirconium phosphate [7,8], sulfonated metal oxides [9], magnetite mixed-metal oxides [10], and functionalised silica nanoparticles [11,12] have been used for the dehydration of fructose to 5-HMF.

Methods

Results

Conclusion