Sn doping on partially dealuminated Beta zeolite by solid state ion exchange for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) production from glucose

BACKGROUND The conversion of glucose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) involves the isomerization of glucose to fructose catalyzed by Lewis acid and subsequent dehydration of fructose catalyzed by Brönsted acid. In this work, in order to obtain a high yield of 5-HMF, a series of Sn-Al-Beta catalysts containing both Lewis and Brönsted acid sites were prepared by a convenient solid state ion exchange (SSIE) method using partially dealuminated Beta zeolite and tin(II) acetate. RESULTS The obtained bifunctional catalysts were investigated for one-pot production of 5-HMF from glucose in the ionic liquid (IL) [C 4 mim]Cl. Among various catalysts, Sn-Al-Beta- 4 - 8 exhibited the best catalytic performance, giving a 5-HMF yield of 54% under optimal reaction conditions (393 K, 2 h), along with a glucose conversion of 81%. The Sn-Al-Beta- 4-8 catalyst and IL were regenerated by the extraction of 5-HMF, and the reactivity was reserved after five runs of recycling. In addition to glucose, the Sn-Al-Beta- 4-8 /[C 4 mim]Cl system was also proven to have the potential to effectively convert other carbohydrates into 5-HMF. CONCLUSION The results suggested that the catalyst is convenient to prepare and has preferable efficiency and stability in the conversion of carbohydrates into 5-HMF. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).