Highly Efficient Production of 5-Methoxymethylfurfural from Fructose in Dimethyl Sulfoxide/Amberlyst-15 Catalytic System
Hui Yang, Feng Zhou, Hao Chen, Jing Li, Huixia Ma, Kequan Chen, Xiuyang Lü, Pingkai Ouyang, Jie Fu
Abstract
With the dwindling availability of fossil fuel resources and the dramatic increase in demand, 5-methoxymethylfurfural (MMF) obtained from renewable biomass resources has great potential as a fossil fuel alternative. In this work, a high yield (80.5%) of MMF was obtained from fructose catalyzed by Amberlyst-15 with the assistance of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in methanol at 100 °C for 10 h. Based on a detailed investigation of the reaction mechanism through the effects of DMSO, Amberlyst-15, reaction time, and reaction temperature on MMF yield and the existence of intermediates proved by FTIR, a two-step pathway was proposed: (1) DMSO and H ion on Amberlyst-15 act as a joint-catalyst [DMSOH]+, facilitating the dehydration of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and (2) [DMSOH]+ assists the etherification of HMF with methanol into MMF, which is the rate-determining step. This finding expands the concept of biomass conversion into biomass fuels and plays a vital role in catalyst screen and design, reaction medium selection, and industrial applications.