Open AccessFabrication of a Novel and High-Performance Mesoporous Ethylene Tar-Based Solid Acid Catalyst for the Dehydration of Fructose into 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural
Author(s) -
Shuang Zhang,
Zaihang Zheng,
Caiyi Zhao,
Long Zhang
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acs omega
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.779
H-Index - 40
ISSN - 2470-1343
DOI - 10.1021/acsomega.7b00771
Subject(s) - catalysis , mesoporous material , carbonization , chemical engineering , ethylene , dehydration , yield (engineering) , materials science , sulfonic acid , organic chemistry , raw material , carbon fibers , fructose , chemistry , adsorption , biochemistry , engineering , metallurgy , composite number , composite material
In this article, a novel and high-performance mesoporous carbon-based solid acid catalyst was prepared using ethylene tar (ET) as a precursor, which is a byproduct of ethylene production. First, ET was carbonized at 550 °C by using magnesium acetate as the template. After that, the mesoporous ET-based solid acid catalyst was obtained by a one-step sulfonation process that removes the templates simultaneously. On the basis of these facts, the maximum yield of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in the presence of an ET catalyst during the dehydration of fructose can reach 87.8%. This effective catalytic activity is mainly attributed to the large specific surface area and high density of sulfonic acid groups existing in the ET catalyst. Moreover, no distinct activity drop was observed during five recycling runs that confirmed good recyclability and thermal stability of the ET catalyst. This research provides a novel and promising method for the utilization of ET as a low-cost, recyclable, and high-performance catalyst.