Optimizing 5-hydroxymethylfurfural production from biomass carbohydrates: ionic liquid-catalyzed pathways in deep eutectic solvents under sonication and thermal conditions

Abstract

This comprehensive study presents a successful synthesis and characterization of an innovative ionic liquid (IL)-based mesopore SBA-16 catalyst for the conversion of biomass-derived carbohydrates into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in the presence of 15 deep eutectic solvents (DESs). The synthesized catalyst was thoroughly characterized using various analytical techniques, including XRD, FT-IR, TGA, BET, SEM/TEM imaging, EDX, and XPS analysis. The environmentally friendly DES was exploited as a novel solvent system for the catalytic process, encompassing a wide range of carbohydrates such as fructose, glucose, sucrose, mannose, tagatose, galactose, lactose, starch, and cellulose. Under finely optimized experimental conditions, the dehydration reaction at room temperature achieved a notable 58% yield of 5-HMF after 45 min of sonication at 350 W power. Furthermore, the reusability of the solvent–catalyst systems was demonstrated, showing high activity in repeated experiments. The catalyst exhibited exceptional performance in converting biomass-derived carbohydrates, yielding an impressive 93% of 5-HMF at 110 °C for 2 h. This research contributes to the development of sustainable catalytic systems for biomass conversion, emphasizing the potential of ionic liquid-based catalysts in DES for the synthesis of valuable platform chemicals.