Effective Synergistic Hafnium-Aluminum Bimetallic Oxides catalysts for the Synthesis of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural from Glucose and Fructose

Abstract

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is considered as a bridge connecting biomass and petrochemical products with excellent application potential and market prospects. In this work, a series of hafnium-aluminum bimetallic oxide (Al-HfOx) catalysts were synthesized with the coprecipitation method, possessing outstanding catalytic effect in the conversion of glucose or fructose to 5-HMF. 5-HMF yield of 49.31% was acquired from glucose in a methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK)/saturated salt water (SSW) biphasic solvent at 170 ℃ after 2 h. When fructose was the substrate, 5-HMF yield was 74.85% in DMSO at 150 ℃ after 75 min. In addition, the reaction mechanism was speculated that the isomerization process could be promoted by the synergistic effects of aluminum and hafnium species, in which Hf-OH and Al-OH groups, and Hf active sites served as Brønsted and Lewis acidic sites, respectively. After at least four cycles, there was no remarkable wastage in the catalytic activity of Al-HfOx. This paper offers a prospective catalytic strategy for heterogeneous bimetallic oxide catalysts used in the effective conversion of carbohydrates to 5-HMF.