Cellulose sulfuric acid as a bio-supported and recyclable solid acid catalyst for the synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and 5-ethoxymethylfurfural from fructose

In this study, we have developed a new and green method for the synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) from fructose using cellulose sulfuric acid as catalyst. Firstly, HMF was synthesized from fructose, and a high yield of 93.6 % was obtained in DMSO for 45 min in the presence of cellulose sulfuric acid. Cellulose sulfuric acid also showed high catalytic activity for the synthesis of EMF. EMF was obtained in a high yield of 84.4 % by the etherification of HMF under the optimal reaction conditions. More importantly, a high EMF yield of 72.5 % was also obtained from fructose through one-pot reaction strategy, which integrated the dehydration of fructose into HMF and the followed etherification of HMF into EMF. The reaction work-up was very simple and the catalyst could be reused several times without the loss of its catalytic activity.