One-pot reductive etherification of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural into biofuel (2,5-bis(propoxymethyl) furan (BPMF)) using mixed catalyst ZrO(OH) and Zr-Hβ

• Published in: New journal of chemistry Vol. 47; no. 2; pp. 891 - 899
• Main Authors: Rana, Srujal P, Rana, Paresh H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 03.01.2023
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/d2nj05662c

One pot synthesis of 2,5-bis(propoxymethyl)furan (BPMF) from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is essential and simultaneously difficult. In the present work, a mixed heterogenous catalyst (ZrO(OH) 2 and Zr-Hβ) was used to study the conversion of 5-HMF to BPMF using 2-propanol as the hydrogen donor in a one-pot process. The prepared catalysts were characterized via temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH 3 -TPD), powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, BET surface area, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The Brønsted acid sites and Lewis acid sites of the catalyst played a vital role in the selectivity for BPMF. Under the optimized reaction conditions (temperature of 140 °C, catalyst loading of 0.25 g, reaction time of 4 h and 5-HMF concentration of 1 g), 61.6% 5-HMF conversion and 91.23% BPMF selectivity were achieved. A mixed catalyst (ZrO(OH) 2 + Zr-Hβ) is highly selective for the one-pot reductive etherification of 5-HMF to BPMF using sacrificial alcohol under mild conditions.