Synthesis of hierarchically porous tantalum phosphate catalysts by a sol-gel method for transformation of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

• Published in: Catalysis science & technology Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 1567 - 158
• Main Authors: Huang, Kai, Huhe, Taoli, Liu, Haichao, Gao, Da-Ming, Zhai, Yao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 03.03.2025
• Subjects: Acidity; Catalysts; Chemical synthesis; Decomposition reactions; Glucose; Hydroxymethylfurfural; Phase separation; Sol-gel processes; Tantalum
• DOI: 10.1039/d4cy01112k
• ISSN: 2044-4753

A hierarchically porous and highly effective tantalum phosphate (TaP) solid acidic catalyst was synthesized using a sol-gel method accompanied by phase separation for converting glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). The TaP sample formed the TaPO 5 phase after calcining at 600 °C (TaP-600) for 4 hours with a surface area of ca. 103 m 2 g −1 and an acidity of ca. 0.18 mmol NH 3 g −1 . The TaP-600 sample had a co-continuous macroporous structure with a regular and orderly pore arrangement, which was conducive to the diffusion of reactants and products, thereby reducing side reactions. The TaP-600 sample can afford an HMF yield of 25.6% by treating with 1.0 wt% glucose at 170 °C in pure water. Using a water-DMSO homogeneous system or a water/MIBK biphasic reaction system can protect HMF from further decomposition, obtaining a HMF yield of 63.8% and 67.1% (mol mol −1 ), respectively. The TaP-600 sample also showed high catalytic performance at high glucose concentration in the water/MIBK system, e.g. the HMF yields reached 27.5% and 23.7% at glucose concentrations of 15.0 wt% and 20.0 wt%, respectively. The productivity of HMF reached 6.6 × 10 −2 mol h −1 kg solution −1 at an initial glucose concentration of 20.0 wt% in the water/MIBK biphasic system with a catalyst loading (weight ratio of catalyst to glucose) of 10.0 wt%. The TaP-600 sample can retain most of its activity after three catalytic cycles giving an HMF yield of 17.9%. These results demonstrate the significant potential of TaP for industrial-scale HMF production. A hierarchically porous and highly effective tantalum phosphate (TaP) solid acidic catalyst was synthesized using a sol-gel method accompanied by phase separation for converting glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF).