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Continuous flow synthesis of HMF from glucose using gadolinium (III) trifluoromethanesulfonate in Brønsted acidic ionic liquid as a catalytic system

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Abstract

The direct conversion of glucose to 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) has been considered a challenging process. In this study, we developed a new method using gadolinium(III) trifluoromethanesulfonate (Gd(OTf)3) in combination with Brønsted acidic ionic liquids as a catalytic system to search possibly more environmentally benign process. The reaction was carried out under a continuous-flow system. The one-step isomerization/dehydration of glucose to give the highest HMF with Gd(OTf)3 together with DBU-based Brønsted acidic ionic liquid in a low-cost home-built continuous system. The plausible mechanism was proposed with the Lewis acidic sites of Gd(OTf)3 for the isomerization step and DBU-based Brønsted acidic ionic liquid sites for the dehydration step. The recycling of catalytic system Gd(OTf)3/DBU-based Brønsted acidic ionic liquid in DMSO was examined. Our findings provided a safe and environmental process for the continuous conversion of glucose into HMF. The use of continuous flow for HMF synthesis ensures that the current method can be applied to the large-scale process.

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Acknowledgements

This research is funded by Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) under grant number 562-2022-18-03.

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  1. Ha Bich Phan and Trinh Hao Nguyen contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Science, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Ha Bich Phan, Trinh Hao Nguyen, Diep Dinh Le, Nhi Hoang Nguyen, Tan Van Nguyen & Phuong Hoang Tran

  2. Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Ha Bich Phan, Trinh Hao Nguyen, Diep Dinh Le, Nhi Hoang Nguyen, Tan Van Nguyen & Phuong Hoang Tran

  3. Institute of Public Health, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Ha Bich Phan

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Phan, H.B., Nguyen, T.H., Le, D.D. et al. Continuous flow synthesis of HMF from glucose using gadolinium (III) trifluoromethanesulfonate in Brønsted acidic ionic liquid as a catalytic system. J Flow Chem 13, 121–132 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41981-022-00250-0

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