Nitrogen doped carbon spheres with wrinkled cages for the selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 5-formyl-2-furancarboxylic acid

Nitrogen doped carbon spheres with wrinkled cages (NCSWCs), which were used for the first time as metal-free catalysts, exhibited high catalytic activity and selectivity in the oxidation of 5-hydroxy-methylfurfural (HMF) to 5-formyl-2-furancarboxylic acid (FFCA) under base-free conditions using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as the oxidant. The mechanistic studies found that this reaction was catalyzed by the synergy between NCSWCs and TBHP. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations further suggested that the hydroperoxyl radicals from TBHP adsorbed on the carbon atoms adjacent to the graphitic N atoms are the active sites.

Automated summary

Nitrogen-doped carbon spheres with wrinkled cages (NCSWCs) were used for the first time as metal-free catalysts, exhibiting high catalytic activity and selectivity in the oxidation of 5-hydroxy-methylfurfural (HMF) to 5-formyl-2-furancarboxylic acid (FFCA) under base-free conditions using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as the oxidant. Mechanistic studies revealed that the reaction was catalyzed by the synergy between NCSWCs and TBHP, with hydroperoxyl radicals from TBHP adsorbed on the carbon atoms adjacent to the graphitic N atoms identified as the active sites.