Dehydration of glucose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in SO_3H-functionalized ionic liquids

The continuous dehydration of D-glucose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural（HMF） was carried out under mild conditions,using SO3H-functionalized acidic ionic liquids as catalysts and H2O-4-methyl-2-pentanone（MIBK） biphasic system as solvent.High glucose conversion of 97.4% with HMF yield of 75.1%was obtained at 120 8C for 360 min,also,small amounts of levulinic acid（LA） and formic acid were generated.Generally,the dosage of catalyst and the initial content of glucose influenced the reaction significantly; the HMF selectivity decreased with the excessive elevation of temperature and prolonging of time; and water content in the system had a negative effect on the reaction.The ionic liquid catalyst could be recycled and exhibited constant activity for five successful runs.This paper provided a new strategy for HMF production from glucose.     

Influence of Synthesis pH and Oxidative Strength of the Catalyzing Acid on the Morphology and Chemical Structure of Hydrothermal Carbon

A specific control of the morphology and chemical structure of hydrothermal carbon (HTC) is of crucial importance for its application, both in catalyst supports or electrochemical devices. Here we show how the morphology, that is, particles size and homogeneity, and the distribution of functional groups can be controlled by the control of the synthesis pH of the hydrothermal carbonization. A complementary analysis of liquid byproducts by HPLC provides useful information on the nature of the polymeric species produced during the poly‐condensation in the hydrothermal process and reveals the potential implementation of the process into the biorefinery concept. The acidic byproducts levulinic acid and formic acid determine the hydrothermal carbonization autocatalytically by additional supply of protons to the reaction medium. Thus, for a starting pH>3, only minor structural differences can be detected for HTC. The use of oxidizing acids favors higher yields of HTC and improves carbonization towards higher condensed carbon domains. Scaling up the process in a stirred 2 L batch reactor favors carbonization leading to higher condensed carbonaceous products. The relative trends of pH variation are maintained.     

Understanding solvent effects in the selective conversion of fructose to 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural: a molecular dynamics investigation

Selective conversion of fructose to 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural (HMF) involves the participation of high-boiling solvents like dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). In order to replace DMSO with low-boiling solvents, it is imperative that we understand the effect of DMSO solvation in protecting (i) HMF from rehydration and humins formation reactions and (ii) fructose from side reactions, other than its dehydration to HMF. In the present work, molecular dynamics simulations of HMF and fructose in water and in water-DMSO mixtures are carried out using the OPLS-AA force field. Radial pair distribution functions, coordination numbers and the hydrogen-bond network between the HMF/fructose molecule and the solvent molecules are analysed. The local 3-dimensional picture of the arrangement of solvent molecules around the solute, which cannot be accessed from pair distribution functions, is also computed. We show preferential coordination of DMSO around HMF and explain how this could provide a shielding effect to the HMF molecule, thus protecting it from further rehydration to levulinic acid and formic acid and from humins formation. In the case of fructose, the presence of DMSO also reduces the number of water molecules in the immediate vicinity of fructose. Though fewer water molecules coordinate around fructose, they are bound strongly to it. Analysis of the local 3-dimensional arrangement of DMSO molecules suggests that it protects the fructose molecule from side reactions that would lead to condensation or reversion products. However, the presence of DMSO molecules does not hamper the water molecules coming into contact with the oxygen atom of the hydroxyl groups of fructose, which is required for a proton transfer from water to fructose, to initiate the dehydration reaction to HMF.     

Leaf-derived sulfonated carbon dots: efficient and recoverable catalysts to synthesize 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose

Sulfonated carbon dots (SCDs) were synthesized from plant leaves via continuously hydrothermal treatment by hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid, used as catalyst for converting fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Owing to nanosize effect and moderate acidic intensity, SCDs could thoroughly distribute in the solvent with an improved interfacial compatibility and selectively convert fructose to HMF. Under the optimal condition, the yield of HMF was 92.6% along with a fructose conversion of 100%, benefiting from a low activation energy of 52.9 kJ/mol when dimethylsulfoxide was used as solvent. The SCDs catalyst can be recovered, after six recycles, the fructose conversion and HMF yield were remained 66.1% and 56.2% under condition with incompletely conversion of fructose, respectively. This work provides a sustainable route to prepare carbon dots with a superior catalytic performance for converting biomass to important biobased platform chemicals.     

在水-四氢呋喃中纤维素转化为5-羟甲基糠醛及副产物鉴定

在酸性条件下,水-四氢呋喃混合溶剂中转化纤维素制备了平台化合物5-羟甲基糠醛（HMF）．在纤维素浓度仅为2.4wt%时,可以得到38.6%的HMF,但是随着纤维素浓度的增加,胡敏素和乙酰丙酸成为主要产物．利用液相色谱-多级串联质谱联用技术检测到了分子式为C9H16O4、 C10H14O4、 C11H12O4、C12H10O5 和C12H16O8的一系列副产物．C9H16O4是通过四氢呋喃开环为1,4-丁二醇再与乙酰丙酸酯化反应得到,而C10H14O4是通过四氢呋喃开环后与HMF醚化得到．C11H12O4是由5-羟甲基糠醛与乙酰丙酸发生酯化反应得到,C12H10O5是由HMF自身醚化得到,而C12H16O8是HMF与葡萄糖经过缩醛反应得到．HMF的自身醚化反应及HMF与1,4-丁二醇的醚化反应是主要的副反应．     

Oxidative decarboxylation of levulinic acid by cupric oxides

In this paper, cupric oxides was found to effectively oxidize levulinic acid (LA) and lead to the decarboxylation of levulinic acid to 2-butanone. The effects of cupric oxide dosage, reaction time and initial pH value were investigated in batch experiments and a plausible mechanism was proposed. The results showed that LA decarboxylation over cupric oxides at around 300 °C under acidic conditions produced the highest yield of butanone (67.5%). In order to elucidate the catalytic activity of cupric oxides, XRD, AFM, XPS and H(2)-TPR techniques was applied to examine their molecular surfaces and their effects on the reaction process.     

Low pH changes the profile of nodulation factors produced by Rhizobium tropici CIAT899

Rhizobium tropici CIAT899 has been cataloged as a nodulator of bean, a plant often growing in areas characterized by highly acidic soils. The purpose of this work was to explore the effects of acidity on the production of Nod factors by this strain and their impact on the establishment of effective symbioses. We report that acidity increases rhizobial Nod factors production, and we exhaustively study the nodulation factor structures produced under abiotic stress. Significant differences were observed between the structures produced at acid and neutral pH: 52 different molecules were produced at acid pH, 29 at neutral pH, and only 15 are common to bacteria grown at pH 7.0 or 4.5. The results indicate that R. tropici CIAT899 has successfully adapted to life in acidic soils and is a good inoculant for the bean under these conditions.     

Kinetics of omeprazole degradation in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol

The reactions of omeprazole, a potent proton pump inhibitor, were investigated in the presence of 2-mercapotoethanol. Reactions were monitored in solutions buffered to pH values ranging from 2.0 to 5.0 using differential pulse polarography at the static mercury drop electrode. First-order reaction network was proposed for all conversions. It is demonstrated that acid degradation predominates at pH values ∼2–3, whereas the reaction of sulfenic acid with the more nucleophilic thiol becomes prominent at pH values around 4–5. The acidic medium is necessary for the formation of sulfenic acid, the key intermediate believed to be the active inhibitor, but acid also converts this sulfenic acid into other degradation products that are unreactive toward thiol. The present work suggests that acid inhibition may occur at pH values higher than those previously thought. Thus, “highly acidic medium is required to achieve both accumulation and activation of omeprazole in the parietal cell, but less acidic medium is necessary for the reaction of sulfenic acid intermediate with the sulfhydryl groups of cysteine residues of H⁺/K⁺-ATPase proton pump in vivo.” © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 40: 352–358, 2008     

Identifying the Geometric Site Dependence of Spinel Oxides for the Electrooxidation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

Co-based spinel oxides, which are of mixing valences with the presence of both Co²⁺ and Co³⁺ at different atom locations, are considered as promising catalysts for the electrochemical oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Identifying the role of each atom site in the electroxidation of HMF is critical to design the advanced electrocatalysts. In this work, we found that Co²⁺_Td in Co₃O₄ is capable of chemical adsorption for acidic organic molecules, and Co³⁺_Oh play a decisive role in HMF oxidation. Thereafter, the Cu²⁺ was introduced in spinel oxides to enhance the exposure degree of Co³⁺ and to boost acidic adsorption and thus to enhance the electrocatalytic activity for HMF electrooxidation significantly.     

Catalytic conversion of raw <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dioscorea composita</Emphasis> biomass to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural using a combination of metal chlorides in <Emphasis Type="Italic">N,N</Emphasis>-dimethylacetamide solvent containing lithium chloride

We synthesized 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from carbohydrates using metal chloride catalysts. A 33.2 % yield of HMF was obtained from raw Dioscorea composita biomass with high starch by using a catalyst system composed of CrCl₃·6H₂O and LaCl₃·6H₂O at 120 °C for 4 h in N,N-dimethylacetamide containing lithium chloride. The catalyst system is also cost-effective for the conversion of soluble starch into HMF. In addition, levulinic acid was not formed in the reactions.     

Production of Sugars and Levulinic Acid from Marine Biomass Gelidium amansii

This study focused on optimization of reaction conditions for formation of sugars and levulinic acid from marine algal biomass Gelidium amansii using acid catalyst and by using statistical approach. By this approach, optimal conditions for production of sugars and levulinic acid were found as follows: glucose (reaction temperature of 139.4°C, reaction time of 15.0 min, and catalyst concentration of 3.0%), galactose (108.2°C, 45.0 min, and 3.0%), and levulinic acid (160.0°C, 43.1 min, and 3.0%). While trying to optimize the conditions for the production of glucose and galactose, levulinic acid production was found to be minimum. Similarly, the production of glucose and galactose were found to be minimum while optimizing the conditions for the production of levulinic acid. In addition, optimized production of glucose required a higher reaction temperature and shorter reaction time than that of galactose. Levulinic acid was formed at a high reaction temperature, long reaction time, and high catalyst concentration. The combined results of this study may provide useful information to develop more economical and efficient systems for production of sugars and chemicals from marine biomass.     

General experimental aspects of the use of isoelectric buffers in capillary electrophoresis.

Four acidic, isoelectric buffers, for peptide and protein separations, have been recently described and adopted in capillary zone electrophoresis: cysteic acid [Cys-A, isoelectric point (pI) 1.85], iminodiacetic acid (IDA, pI 2.23), aspartic acid (Asp, pI 2.77) and glutamic acid (Glu, pI 3.22). These four buffers allow to explore an acidic portion of the titration curves of macroions, covering about 1.6 pH units (from pH 1.85 to ca. 3.45), thus permitting resolution of compounds having coincident titration curves at a given pH value. Given the rather acidic pI values of these buffers, their long-term stability has been investigated, by monitoring pH and conductivity changes upon increasing storage times. When dissolved in plain water, all four buffers appear to give constant pH and conductivity readings up to 15 days; after that, the conductivity keeps steadily increasing in a similar fashion. The same parameters, when the same buffers are dissolved in 6 M urea, appear to be stable for only one week, with the conductivity progressively augmenting after this period. A similar behaviour is exhibited by histidine (pI 7.70), a neutral, isoelectric buffer adopted for separation of DNA fragments. By mass spectrometry, Cys-A shows minute amounts (ca. 1%) of a degradation product after ageing for 3 weeks; in the same time period, Glu is extensively degraded (20%). No degradation species could be detected in IDA and Asp solutions. It is additionally shown that the acidic buffers are not quite stationary in the electric field, but can be transported at progressively higher rates (according to the pI value) from the cathodic to the anodic vessel. This is due to the fact that, at their respective pI values, a fraction of the amphotere has to be negatively charged in order to provide counterions to the excess of protons due to bulk water dissociation. Guidelines are given for the proper use and storage of such buffers.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of single-crystalline anatase TiO2 nanorods with nanotubes as the precursor

Preparation of anatase TiO2 nanorods from solutions in the absence of surfactants or templates has rarely been reported. The present work has found that hydrothermal treatment of titanate nanotube suspensions under an acidic environment resulted in the formation of single-crystalline anatase nanorods with a specific crystal-elongation direction. The nanotube suspensions were prepared by treatment of TiO2 in NaOH, followed by mixing with HNO3 to different pH values. The crystal size of the anatase nanoparticles obtained from the hydrothermal treatment increased with the pH of the suspensions, and nanorods with an aspect ratio up to 6 and a long axis along the anatase [001] were obtained at a pH slightly less than 7. A mechanism for the tube-to-rod transformation has been proposed on the basis of the crystalline structures of the tubes and rods. The local shrinkage of the tube walls to form anatase crystallites and the subsequent oriented attachment of the crystallites have been suggested to be the key steps involved in the nanorod formation.     

Catalytic Conversion of Glucose into Levulinic Acid Using 2-Phenyl-2-Imidazoline Based Ionic Liquid Catalyst

Levulinic acid (LA) is an industrially important product that can be catalytically valorized into important value-added chemicals. In this study, hydrothermal conversion of glucose into levulinic acid was attempted using Brønsted acidic ionic liquid catalyst synthesized using 2-phenyl-2-imidazoline, and 2-phenyl-2-imidazoline-based ionic liquid catalyst used in this study was synthesized in the laboratory using different anions (NO₃, H₂PO₄, and Cl) and characterized using ¹H NMR, TGA, and FT-IR spectroscopic techniques. The activity trend of the Brønsted acidic ionic liquid catalysts synthesized in the laboratory was found in the following order: [C₄SO₃HPhim][Cl] > [C₄SO₃HPhim][NO₃] > [C₄SO₃HPhim][H₂PO₄]. A maximum 63% yield of the levulinic acid was obtained with 98% glucose conversion at 180 °C and 3 h reaction time using [C₄SO₃HPhim][Cl] ionic liquid catalyst. The effect of different reaction conditions such as reaction time, temperature, ionic liquid catalyst structures, catalyst amount, and solvents on the LA yield were investigated. Reusability of [C₄SO₃HPhim][Cl] catalyst up to four cycles was observed. This study demonstrates the potential of the 2-phenyl-2-imidazoline-based ionic liquid for the conversion of glucose into the important platform chemical levulinic acid.     

Theoretical studies on thermochemistry for conversion of 5-chloromethylfurfural into valuable chemicals

Recently, 5-chloromethylfurfural (CMF) was proposed as a central intermediate in the conversion of carbohydrate-based material into useful organic commodities. In the present work, we have calculated the thermochemistry using the highly accurate G4 theory and several state-of-art density functional theory (DFT) methods (e.g., X1, M06-2X, B2PLYP-D, and XYG3) for the conversion from CMF to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and levulinic acid (LA) in water, and that to biofuels 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) and ethyllevulinate (EL) in alcohol. New reaction mechanisms have been proposed, which complement the well-recognized Horvat mechanisms. The assessment of DFT methods suggested that XYG3 be a viable method for biomass related thermochemistry calculations.     

果糖在酸性离子液体中脱水制备5-羟甲基糠醛

制备了多种离子液体,并将其作为催化剂和溶剂催化果糖脱水制备5-羟甲基糠醛（HMF）。 制备的酸性离子液体包括磺酸基功能化酸性离子液体、咪唑类酸性离子液体和吡啶类酸性离子液体。 利用核磁共振仪和红外光谱仪对离子液体的结构进行表征。 利用紫外可见光分光光度计结合Hammett指示剂计算Hammett酸度函数,比较了酸强度的大小对反应的影响。 结果表明,离子液体的酸强度对反应有较大影响,在无其它催化剂和溶剂的情况下,离子液体具有较高的催化活性,通过使用1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑氯盐(BmimCl)作为催化剂,当反应温度为120 ℃,反应进行到4 h时,HMF收率可以达到74.97%。     

Ru/C催化5-羟甲基糠醛选择氧化高效合成2,5-呋喃二甲醛

在活性炭负载金属钌(Ru/C)催化剂上实现了5-羟甲基糠醛的高效选择氧化.以甲苯为反应溶剂,在383 K和2.0 MPa O₂的反应条件下,2,5-呋喃二甲醛(DFF)收率高达95.8%.与活性炭负载的具有相似粒径的Pt,Rh,Pd,Au等其它贵金属催化剂相比,Ru/C具有更加优良的活性和DFF选择性.同时Ru/C催化剂结构稳定,具有良好的重复使用性能.在相似的反应条件下,采用水代替甲苯作为溶剂,同时添加少量水滑石固体碱,可便捷地将主要产物从DFF调变为5-甲酰基-2-呋喃甲酸或2,5-呋喃二甲酸,显示出Ru/C催化剂在控制5-羟甲基糠醛选择氧化反应产物方面的优异性能.     

Catalytic hydrolysis of cellulose into furans

Chromium chloride in 4-(3-methylimidazolium-1-yl)butane-1-sulfonic acid hydrogen sulfate (IL-1) was found to effectively catalyze the hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) at 150°C for 300 min to achieve 87.8% conversion to a slate of products. With a catalytic amount of CrCl₃, the yields of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) and furfural were up to 32.4 and 15.2%, respectively, small molecules levulinic acid (LA, 10.8%) and the total reducing sugars (TRS, 10.7%) were also generated. Through LC-MSD analysis and mass spectra, dimer of furan compounds as the main by-products were speculated, and the components of gas products were methane, ethane, CO, CO₂, and H₂. We suggested that IL-1 and CrCl₃ exhibited a coordination interaction; the formation of the intermediate via the hydride shift played a key role in the formation of HMF. The catalyst was recycled and exhibited constant activity for five successive trials.     

Study of organic acids in Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus after vinegar processing

The ripened fruit of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus has unique medical properties in Chinese medicine. It is commonly used after vinegar steaming. Vinegar steaming changes the color of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus from red to black and enhances its acidic and astringent properties. Lignans are the well‐investigated components in this herb. However, Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus is acidic in the theory of Chinese medicine, and whether vinegar processing changes its organic acid components remains largely unknown. In this study, the organic acids in this herb were derived by the method of methyl esterification, and further analyzed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. A total of 39 organic acid compounds were identified. Interestingly, Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus after vinegar processing showed a significant increase in the content of levulinic acid as compared to the unprocessed ones. Pharmacological experiments demonstrated that levulinic acid inhibited the contractility of isolated intestine and had an inhibitory effect on the excessive hyperfunction of small intestinal propulsion. Moreover, the extracts of vinegar‐processed Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus had a stronger inhibitory on the excessive hyperfunction of small intestinal propulsion than that of unprocessed ones. Taken together, this study offers novel insight into the effect of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus after vinegar processing.     

Production of Human Milk Fat Replacement Rich of 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoilglycerol From Enzymatic Interesterification Tripalmitin,Ethyl Oleate And Mixture of VCO,Soybean Oil And Fish Oil

Human Milk is naturally the only source of food for infant in their early life. It contains 2-6% lipid which provides about 50% of the total energy needed by the infant. Human milk fat (HMF) mainly as TAG with the specific fatty acid composition, palmitic acid (C16:0) (20-25%), which is primary located at sn-2 of glycerol bonds (70%) and oleic acid (C18:1), located at sn-1,3 (35%). HMF also provide fatty acids such as linoleic acid, linolenic acid, EPA, DHA and lauric acid that are very important for infant. The purposes of this research are to synthesize of 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoilglycerol (OPO) and to determine the best composition of OPO, VCO, soybean oil and fish oil for HMFS production for infant formula. Interesterification of tripalmitin and ethyl oleate using immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozym RM IM) were used to synthesize of OPO. Interesterification product of mixed VCO, soybean oil and fish oil that are source of lauric acid, linoleic acid, α-linolenic, EPA and DHA, were formulated in mass ratio (58:20:20:2) and (70:18:10:2) for obtaining HMFS which have fatty acids composition similar or close to HMF. Composition of fatty acids from product were analyzed by GCMS. From this research, were obtained HMFS containing palmitic acid as much as 28.89% where 84.49% of that are located at sn-2 while sn-1,3 position are dominated by oleic acid as much as 55.11% from the total 38.7% and 70:18:10:2 w/w is the best composition of interesterification product, VCO, soybean oil and fish oil to obtain HMFS similar to HMF.