Catalytic conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural using zirconium-containing metal-organic frameworks

Gong, Jue (2018) Catalytic conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural using zirconium-containing metal-organic frameworks. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) can be obtained by the catalytic dehydration of glucose or fructose using different homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts. In my research project, four closely related zirconium-containing Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) were chosen as catalysts for the conversion of glucose to 5-HMF due to their chemical and thermal stability as well as the Lewis acidity of zirconium. The initial research focused on the use of UiO-66-X (X= H, NH2 and SO₃H), optimization of reaction conditions and investigation of the relationship between their catalytic activity and properties. The highest yield of 5-HMF (28%) was obtained using UiO-66 under the optimal reaction conditions. In catalyst recycling experiments, UiO-66 could be re-used after five runs with a small reduction in the yield of-5-HMF. We assumed that this is due to the formation of humin after reaction. Thus, used UiO-66 catalyst, named UiO-66-humin, was characterized by several techniques such as PXRD, FTIR, ¹³C Solid State NMR spectroscopy, and N2 adsorption measurements. MOF 808 was another potential candidate for the conversion of glucose since it possesses lower connectivity (6-connected) with larger surface area compared with UiO-66. MOF 808 was synthesized via a solvothermal method and characterized by PXRD and N2 adsorption measurements. Notably, MOF 808 afforded higher yields of 5-HMF when compared with UiO-66-X.

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