Efficient One-Pot Synthesis of 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid from Sugars over Polyoxometalate/Metal-Organic Framework Catalysts

Converting extensive sugars into value-added 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has been considered to be a promising approach to developing sustainable substitutes for chemicals from fossil resources. The complicated conversion processes involved multiple cascade reactions and intermediates, which made the design of efficient multifunction catalysts challenging. Herein, we developed a catalyst by introducing phosphotungstic acid (PW) and Co sites into the UiO-66, which achieved a one-pot cascade conversion of fructose-to-FDCA with high conversion (> 99%) and yield (94.6%) based on the controllable Lewis/Bronsted acid sites and redox sites. Controlled experiments and detailed characterizations show that the multifunctional PW/UiO(Zr, Co) catalysts successfully affords the direct synthesis of FDCA from fructose via dehydration and selective oxidation in the one-pot reaction. Additionally, the MOF catalysts could also efficiently convert various sugars into FDCA, which has broad application prospects. This study provides new strategies for designing multifunctional catalysts to achieve efficient production of FDCA from biomass in the one-pot reaction.

Automated summary

A catalyst with phosphotungstic acid and cobalt sites was developed by incorporating them into UiO-66, enabling a one-pot cascade conversion of fructose to FDCA with high conversion (> 99%) and yield (94.6%) through controllable Lewis/Bronsted acid sites and redox sites. This study provides new strategies for efficient production of FDCA from biomass through the design of multifunctional catalysts.