Breaking the thermal barrier: Low-temperature (90 °C) cellulose conversion to 5-HMF enabled by [BMIM]Cl/NbCl5/IPA synergy.

Abstract

A catalytic system composed of the neutral ionic liquid as solvent 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) and the single Lewis acid catalyst NbCl5 was developed, which enables the conversion of cellulose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) at 90 °C and atmospheric pressure. Upon the addition of isopropanol (IPA), a yield of 5-HMF from cellulose as 59.3% was obtained at 90 °C after 270 min. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the gaseous oxygen did not play a significant role in the conversion of cellulose into 5-HMF in this [BMIM]Cl-h/IPA/NbCl5 catalytic system. Based on these findings, a new conversion pathway for cellulose-to-5-HMF was suggested, which was proposed to rationalize the mild reaction conditions required for this efficient transformation.

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