Green Synthesis of Isosorbide from Sorbitol with Dimethyl Carbonate Catalyzed by Sodium Acetate Under Mild Condition

The environmental challenges associated with the dehydration of sorbitol to isosorbide using strong acid catalysts have prompted the development of cleaner and milder reaction pathway. The dehydration of sorbitol via dimethyl carbonate (DMC) in the presence of a catalytic amount of base is a reliable and environmentally friendly process for the industrial production of isosorbide. Herein, isosorbide is cleanly synthesized from sorbitol with DMC catalyzed by green catalyst sodium acetate under moderate condition. The optimal transformation conditions of sorbitol to isosorbide through DMC are determined to be a molar ratio of sorbitol to DMC = 1:16 and sodium acetate/sorbitol mass ratio = 3:20 reacting at 90 °C for 24 h with approximately 60% yield of isosorbide attained. The proposed synthesis process of isosorbide in this research is less hazardous and more environmental-friendly in compared to traditional synthesis processes, and broadens the range of catalysts used in the DMC based isosorbide production. Graphical