Abstract
An inexpensive carbocatalyst containing Brønsted acidic sulfonic acid group and Lewis acidic Ti4+ is found to be effective for cascade conversion of C6 sugar to 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) via sequential dehydration, and etherification reactions. HMF and fructose conversions at mild conditions achieved 91% and 64% EMF yields, respectively. The results indicate that the two acid sites interplay synergistically for high EMF yield and minimal ring-opened product ethyl levulinate (EL), another promising biofuel additive. Etherification of 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) with alcohols of varying carbon lengths formed alkoxymethylfurans (AMF) with high yields. The catalyst retained good activity upon recycling. The nature and strength of the acid sites are elucidated.
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