Catalytic conversion of fructose into 5-HMF under eco-friendly-biphasic process

Abstract

One-pot conversion of fructose into valuable 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (5-HMF) was investigated under a deep eutectic solvent-biphasic system. The role of ChCl, as an inexpensive and safe quaternary ammonium salt, was clearly found to be significant in the reaction. It improved the yield of 5-HMF from fructose dehydration and suppressed the side reactions as well. In addition, the deep eutectic solvent system exhibited a good recyclability with only a small decrease in the 5-HMF yield, while ChCl could be easily recrystallized in the presence of acetonitrile (ACN) (for 5 cycles) or tetrahydrofuran (THF) (for 2 cycles). This research provides a green way for the 5-HMF production via a reusable-biphasic process.