Selective Conversion of Glucose to Levulinic Acid Catalyzed by HPAs/MOF‑5 in a Hydrophilic Eutectic Solvent System

• Published in: Energy & fuels Vol. 36; no. 24; pp. 14994 - 15003
• Main Authors: Lv, Qiang, Liu, Hong, Xu, Weichao, Li, Anming, Zhang, Xuehan, Yi, Yuhang, Guo, Kunhao, Guo, Feng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 15.12.2022
• Subjects: Bioenergy, Biofuels, and Biorefinery
• ISSN: 0887-0624; 1520-5029
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.2c03015

The development of efficient catalytic systems is critical for increasing the production of high-value chemicals from low-cost glucose. Here, MOF-5 was evaluated as a promising support for the synthesis of a heterogeneous catalyst with both Brønsted acid and Lewis acid sites via simple phosphotungstic heteropoly acid (HPA) embedding. In green deep eutectic solvent (DES) media, the MOF-5-supported HPA catalyst demonstrated high catalytic activity for the production of levulinic acid (LA) from glucose. The highest LA yield of 56.7 mol % was achieved at 130 °C for 3 h. The reaction efficiency of the entire reaction chain (glucose → fructose → 5-hydroxymethylfurfural → LA) was increased by adjusting the ratio of Brønsted acid sites to Lewis acid sites. Synergies between Brønsted acid, Lewis acid, and DESs are also considered to influence the reaction.