Synthesis of mesoporous niobium phosphosilicate with high catalytic activity in the conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in water solvent

Mesoporous niobium-based solid acid catalysts were successfully synthesized using the soft template method with sodium lignosulfonate (SLS) as the template. In most studies the template is calcined to form mesopores after hydrothermal synthesis; however, in this study SLS was retained to produce niobium-carbon composite catalysts. The catalysts obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption–desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and static contact angle measurements. The catalytic activity of the solids was also investigated in the conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) using pure water as the solvent. Under optimal conditions, niobium-carbon composite catalyst achieved a glucose conversion yield of 65.1% and an HMF yield of 42.1%. The enhanced catalytic activity was attributed to the timely extraction of the HMF by the carbonized SLS.