| Literature DB >> 17569858 |
Haibo Zhao1, Johnathan E Holladay, Heather Brown, Z Conrad Zhang.
Abstract
Replacing petroleum feedstocks by biomass requires efficient methods to convert carbohydrates to a variety of chemical compounds. We report the catalytic conversion of sugars giving high yield to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a versatile intermediate. Metal halides in 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride are catalysts, among which chromium (II) chloride is found to be uniquely effective, leading to the conversion of glucose to HMF with a yield near 70%. A wide range of metal halides is found to catalyze the conversion of fructose to HMF. Only a negligible amount of levulinic acid is formed in these reactions.Entities:
Year: 2007 PMID: 17569858 DOI: 10.1126/science.1141199
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Science ISSN: 0036-8075 Impact factor: 47.728