Heterogeneous photocatalyzed acceptorless dehydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural upon visible-light illumination

Herein we reported a catalytic strategy for the photocatalytic dehydrogenation of biomass-based 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) upon visible-light illumination. The developed method could afford complete conversion and high selectivity of DFF without any oxidizing agent or additive or any conventional hydrogen acceptor. Graphitic carbon nitride (CN) modified with non-noble metals was used as the photocatalyst. The visible-light-driven CN possessed a suitable energy band structure, which could provide feasible redox potential for the conversion of HMF into DFF. The non-noble metal co-catalyst could significantly improve the separation and transfer efficiencies of the photogenerated charge carriers of the CN. Thus, our catalysts exhibited high photocatalytic performance for the dehydrogenation of HMF into DFF. Moreover, the dehydrogenation mechanism on the photocatalyst was studied through the control experiments and the characterization of catalysts.

Automated summary

A catalytic strategy for the photocatalytic dehydrogenation of HMF to DFF under visible-light illumination was reported. The developed method achieved high conversion and selectivity without the need for oxidizing agents or conventional hydrogen acceptors. Non-noble metal-modified CN as the photocatalyst showed improved separation and transfer efficiencies, leading to high photocatalytic performance.