The conversion of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) to maleic anhydride with vanadium-based heterogeneous catalysts

Abstract

Heterogeneous catalytic systems using vanadium-based solid catalysts with or without silica support were developed for the oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) to maleic anhydride (MA) and up to 79% yield of MA was achieved. Both unsupported and silica supported vanadium oxide catalysts showed high activity, selectivity, and recyclability. The direct conversion of fructose to MA via the HMF intermediate was further demonstrated and over 50% overall yield of MA was achieved.