Renewable carbohydrate biomass resources have the great potential to be alternative fossil-based resources due to their abundance and recyclability. In this respect, HMF (5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural) is among most versatile, key platforms to transform fuels and chemicals such as DMF (2,5-dimethylfurfural), AMF (5-alkoxymethyl-2-furfural), FDCA (2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid), and so on. HMF is relatively readily formed from a ketohexose by dehydration under acidic conditions. It is, however, hardly obtained from aldohexoses that are even more abundant than ketohexoses in nature because cyclization of an aldohexose forms a six membered ring. Here, we present the facile conversion of an aldohexose into HMF and its etheric derivatives using acid/base ion-exchange resins, simultaneously or subsequently. In a viewpoint of synthetic rationale, base ion-exchange resins could assist the isomerization of an aldohexose into a ketohexose and then acid ion-exchange resins catalyzed the dehydration of the in-situ formed ketohexose. In order to optimize the conditions, a range of ion-exchange resins were screened and the effect of solvents on the isomerization was also investigated.

Facile conversion of an aldohexose into 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural and its etheric derivatives using acid/base ion-exchange resins

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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