Nitrogen doped carbon solid acid for improving its catalytic transformation of xylose and agricultural biomass residues to furfural

Abstract

Nitrogen doped carbon solid acid catalyst was prepared by sulfonation of the nitrogen doped carbon derived from polyaniline. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared catalyst was investigated and the acidity was tested by the titration method. The catalytic performances were evaluated by conversion of xylose to furfural as well as one-pot transformation of biomass to furfural. Moreover, influence of the reaction conditions including reaction temperature, time, solvents, and catalyst dosage were investigated. It can yield 88.2% furfural from xylose in γ-valerolactone at 170 °C for 45 min. Moreover, biomass of agricultural biomass residues were used to test the performance for one-pot transformation of biomass to furfural. Satisfied yield of 95% and 77.4% furfural was respectively obtained from corn cob and rice husk.