Magnetically-recoverable carbonaceous material: An efficient catalyst for the synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and 5-ethoxymethylfurfural from carbohydrates

Abstract

A novel, magnetically recoverable carbonaceous solid acid Fe₃O₄@C-SO₃H catalyst for the conversion of carbohydrates to 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) was developed. The effect of the DMSO fraction in the ethanol-DMSO binary solvent on the distribution of the reaction products was investigated. The catalyst showed an excellent activity in the synthesis of EMF from fructose and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). 5- Ethoxymethylfurfural was also obtained with a high yield of 64.2% in an ethanol–DMSO solvent system via one-step conversion of fructose. After reaction, the catalyst could be recovered by exposure of the reaction mixture to external magnetic field and reused several times without a loss of catalytic activity.