Efficient synthesis of furfural over mZSM-5@SO42-/mSiO2 core–shell catalyst by targeted regulating B/L acids

A core–shell catalyst mZSM-5@SO 4 2- /mSiO 2 composed of mZSM-5 core and SO 4 2- /mSiO 2 shell was prepared by the soft template method. Core-shell structure could promote the building of Brønsted -Lewis (B-L) acids interface and significantly improve the synergistic effect of B-L. In this paper, the Brønsted/Lewis (B/L) of mZSM-5@SO 4 2- /mSiO 2 was targeted regulating by innovatively introducing Brønsted acid (BA) sites into the shell. The optimal mZSM-5@SO 4 2- /mSiO 2 catalyst (B/L = 0.142) could achieve 72.1 % furfural yield at 140 ℃ for 1 h. In addition, 70.2 % furfural yield could be obtained after the catalyst was recycled and regenerated for 5 times. Combining In-situ IR and 13 C NMR, the reaction path was revealed in detail: xylose was first isomerized to xylulose and then dehydrated to furfural. This paper provides a research idea for the directional regulation of dual active sites of cascade reaction catalysts.