(509f) Novel Catalysts for Sugar Conversion to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

Renewable resources have the potential to provide new and sustainable supplies of basic chemical building blocks. Glucose and fructose, two abundant six-carbon sugar molecules, are potential feedstocks for this purpose. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is an important versatile sugar derivative and is a key intermediate between bio-based carbohydrate chemistry and petroleum based industrial organic chemistry. High sugar conversion to hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in ionic liquids was achieved. Catalytic amounts of certain metal halides pretreated in ionic liquids significantly reduced the fructose dehydration barrier, producing HMF at high yields. Most remarkably, glucose, a common sugar molecule, was selectively converted to HMF in good yield in ionic liquid treated with metal halides. Only negligible amount of levulinic acid was formed in the reactions.