Dehydration of carbohydrates to 2-furaldehydes in ionic liquids by catalysis with ion exchange resins

The dehydration of several sugars, including pentoses, hexoses, di, tri, and polysaccharides, in ionic liquids with acidic ion-exchange resins as heterogeneous catalysts was investigated. Good 2-furaldehydes recovery yields, reaching 92% in some cases, were achieved when Dowex (R) 50W ion-exchange resins and 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C(4)mim]Cl) were used. Our results show that this aproach could represent a promising route towards the cost-efficient production of 2-furaldehydes from carbohydrate-based feedstocks. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.