Synergistic catalysis of species in molten salt hydrate for conversion of cellulose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

The one-pot approach was developed by using molten salt hydrate consisting of ZnCl 2 ·4H 2 O and LiCl·3H 2 O to produce 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) from cellulose . Cellulose was dissolved and regenerated to study the interaction of cellulose and molten salt hydrate. The effects of ZnCl 2 ·4H 2 O concentration, reaction time, and temperature on the conversion of cellulose to 5-HMF were investigated. 5-HMF yield increased when ZnCl 2 ·4H 2 O was mixed with LiCl·3H 2 O, and the maximum value (44.1%) was reached at 160 °C and 90 min when ZnCl 2 ·4H 2 O concentration was 64.9 mol%. The species of ZnCl 2 ·4H 2 O–LiCl·3H 2 O were analyzed, and the function of species concentration was correlated with the 5-HMF yield from the conversion of glucose and fructose. It was found that the synergistic catalysis of ZnCl 3 − , Zn 2+ , Zn(OH) + , H + as well as Li + promoted the efficiently cellulose conversion to 5-HMF.