A. Salazar, Paul Hünemörder, J. Rabeah
May 23, 2019
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Influential Citations
17
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Journal
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Abstract
5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) has become a benchmark chemical as it can be obtained by the processing of renewable biomass, making its downstream modification an important topic both in industry and academia. Finding catalytic processes for the selective derivatization of HMF is challenging due to its reactivity, hence mild conditions are needed. Here we report the selective oxidative esterification of HMF to methyl 5-(hydroxymethyl)furan-2-carboxylate and to dimethyl furan-2,5-dicarboxylate (FDCM) under mild conditions using oxygen (from air) as oxidant. A synergetic effect between the used catalysts, cobalt oxide over nitrogen-doped carbon, and ruthenium over carbon catalysts was observed by catalytic and electron paramagnetic resonance measurements. Kinetic analysis revealed a first order dependence on substrate for the cobalt catalyst and an apparent zero order for the ruthenium catalysts. The conversion rates were improved by the use of perfluoroether as solvent, proving that the oxygen diffusion is ...