abstract
The acid-catalyzed reaction of 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural with ethanol is a promising route to produce biofuels or fuel additives within the carbohydrate platform; specifically, this reaction may give 5-ethoxymethylfurfural, 5-(ethoxymethyl)furfural diethylacetal, and/or ethyl levulinate (bioEs). It is shown that sulfonated, partially reduced graphene oxide (S-RGO) exhibits a more superior catalytic performance for the production of bioEs than several other acid catalysts, which include sulfonated carbons and the commercial acid resin Amberlyst-15, which has a much higher sulfonic acid content and stronger acidity. This was attributed to the cooperative effects of the sulfonic acid groups and other types of acid sites (e.g., carboxylic acids), and to the enhanced accessibility to the active sites as a result of the 2D structure. Moreover, the acidic functionalities bonded to the S-RGO surface were more stable under the catalytic reaction conditions than those of the other solids tested, which allowed its efficient reuse.
keywords
SOLID-ACID; ETHYL LEVULINATE; EUCALYPTUS-GLOBULUS; FURAN-DERIVATIVES; CARBON NANOTUBES; GRAPHITE OXIDE; LIQUID FUELS; BIOMASS; CHEMICALS; EFFICIENT
subject category
Chemistry; Science & Technology - Other Topics
authors
Antunes, MM; Russo, PA; Wiper, PV; Veiga, JM; Pillinger, M; Mafra, L; Evtuguin, DV; Pinna, N; Valente, AA
our authors
Anabela Tavares Aguiar Valente
Principal Researcher
Dmitry Evtyugin
Associate Professor with Aggregation
Luís Mafra
Principal Researcher
Maria Margarida Feitor Pintão Moreno Antunes
Junior Researcher
Martyn Pillinger
Principal Researcher
Patrícia Alexandra Ferreira Russo
Post-doc Fellowship
Paul Vincent Wiper
Post-doc Fellowshipacknowledgements
We are grateful to the FundacAo para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) and Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) for general funding (projects POCTI/QUI/56112/2004; PTDC/CTM/098361/2008), and to the Associate Laboratory CICECO (PEst-C/CTM/LA0011/2013). The FCT and the European Union are acknowledged for postdoctoral grants to M.M.A. (SFRH/BPD/89068/2012) and P.A.R. (SFRH/BPD/79910/2011) cofunded by MCTES and the European Social Fund through the program POPH of QREN.