Graphene oxide as a facile acid catalyst for the one-pot conversion of carbohydrates into 5-ethoxymethylfurfural

Graphene oxide obtained by the Hummers method was discovered to be an efficient and recyclable acid catalyst for the conversion of fructose-based biopolymers into 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF). EMF yields of 92%, 71%, 34% and 66% were achieved when 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), fructose, sucrose and inulin were used as starting materials, respectively.

Green Chem., 2013, 15,2379-2383
DOI: 10.1039/C3GC41109E, Communication

Hongliang Wang,^ab   Tiansheng Deng,^a   Yingxiong Wang,^a  Xiaojing Cui,^ac   Yongqin Qi,^a   Xindong Mu,^d   Xianglin Hou*^a and  Yulei Zhu*^ac

*

Corresponding authors

^a

Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan, PR China
E-mail: houxl@sxicc.ac.cn ;
Fax: (+86) 351-4041153

^b

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China

^c

State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan, PR China

^d

Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, P. R. China

Graphene oxide was used as a facile carbon catalyst for converting renewable carbon sources into the potential biofuel 5-ethoxymethylfurfural.