Ruthenium nanoparticles supported on N-containing mesoporous polymer catalyzed aerobic oxidation of biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF)

Ruthenium nanoparticles embedded on a mesoporous poly-melamine-formaldehyde material (Ru@mPMF) has been synthesized and characterized by powder XRD, HRTEM, TGA, SEM, EDS, UV-vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS), Raman spectroscopy, XPS and N-2 adsorption/desorption study. The Ru@mPMF catalyst was excellent for selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) in toluene. Moreover, this catalyst is easily recoverable and it is reusable upto six cycles without notable decrease in its catalytic activity. Profoundly scattered and firmly bound Ru-NPs sites in mPMF might be engaged for the excellent performance of the material. Due to strong binding with the functional groups of the polymer, no indication of ruthenium leaching was there during the reaction. This suggests the actual heterogeneous nature of the material. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.