Molybdenum carbide anchored on glucose-derived carbon (β-Mo2C@C) as a bifunctional catalyst for conversion of fructose to 2,5-diformylfuran

作者：Yang, Zhenzhen^*; He, Yuhan; Tang, Pengfei; Zhu, Bangchong; Zhang, Genlei^*; He, Jianbo

来源：Catalysis Science & Technology, 2022, 12(9): 2903-2911.

DOI：10.1039/d2cy00180b

• SELECTIVE AEROBIC OXIDATION
• ONE-POT SYNTHESIS
• ONE-STEP APPROACH
• LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS
• OXIDE
• DERIVATIVES
• ACID
• HMF
• MICROSPHERES

Direct conversion of biomass-based fructose to 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) has attracted much attention in recent years. In this study, molybdenum carbide anchored on glucose-derived carbon (beta-Mo2C@C) was synthesized by a simple, green and economical method and was found to be highly active for production of DFF from 5-hydromethylfurfural (HMF) and fructose. DFF was obtained with high yields of 94.5% and 76.0% from aerobic oxidation of HMF and "one-pot" conversion of fructose under optimal reaction conditions, respectively. A probable mechanism involving Mo6+/Mo2+ redox cycles was proposed for beta-Mo2C@C-catalyzed oxidation of HMF to DFF according to the experimental and characterization results. Furthermore, the beta-Mo2C@C catalyst can be reused without much loss of catalytic activity, suggesting that beta-Mo2C@C is highly stable.