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Science 15 June 2007:
Vol. 316. no. 5831, pp. 1597 - 1600
DOI: 10.1126/science.1141199
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Reports

Metal Chlorides in Ionic Liquid Solvents Convert Sugars to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

Haibo Zhao, Johnathan E. Holladay, Heather Brown, Z. Conrad Zhang*

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.

Institute for Interfacial Catalysis, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Post Office Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: conrad.zhang{at}pnl.gov

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Molecular Layering of Fluorinated Ionic Liquids at a Charged Sapphire (0001) Surface.
M. Mezger, H. Schroder, H. Reichert, S. Schramm, J. S. Okasinski, S. Schoder, V. Honkimaki, M. Deutsch, B. M. Ocko, J. Ralston, et al. (2008)
Science 322, 424-428
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