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.