Acid-catalyzed rearrangement of biomass polycyclic sesquiterpene derivatives to high-performance alkyl-adamantanes

Biomass-based aviation fuel is attractive for sustainable development. Herein, we report a facile route to synthesize alkyl-adamantanes (AAMs) via acid-catalyzed rearrangement of biomass polycyclic sesquiterpene derivatives (bio-PCS derivatives). The reaction conditions including catalysts, solvents, reaction temperature and reaction time were optimized. Notably, a total AAMs yield of 65.1% was achieved under the optimal conditions. The kinetics of rearrangement reaction was investigated, and the reaction rate constant ( k ) and apparent activation energy ( E a ) were calculated based on the experimental kinetic data. The rearrangement products possess high density of 0.90 g/cm 3 , high net heat of combustion of 42.6 MJ/kg, low viscosity (22.5 mm 2 /s at −20℃) and high thermal oxidative stability. The blending of rearrangement products with JP-10 can significantly shorten the ignition delay time (IDT) of JP-10. This work provides a method to synthesize high-performance biomass-based AAMs.