InCl3-catalyzed conversion of carbohydrates into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in biphasic system.

InCl3, a water-compatible Lewis acid, was used for the conversion of microcrystalline cellulose to produce 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in a H2O/THF biphasic system. Addition of NaCl increased the HMF yield significantly but suppressed the levulinic acid (LA) formation. The HMF yield of 39.7% was obtained in 2h at 200°C in the NaCl-H2O/THF catalytic system catalyzed by InCl3. The catalytic system also showed effectiveness to convert other carbohydrates to HMF, including glucose, fructose, sucrose, starch, which demonstrated great potential towards different feedstocks.