Conversion of biorenewable feedstocks into transportation fuels or chemicals likely necessitates the development of novel heterogeneous catalysts with good hydrothermal stability, due to the nature of highly oxygenated biomass compounds and the prevalence of water as a processing solvent. The use of carbon-based materials, derived from sugars as catalyst precursors, can achieve hydrothermal stability while simultaneously realizing the goal of sustainability. In this work, the simultaneous pyrolysis of glucose and taurine in the presence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), to obtain versatile solid acids, has been demonstrated. Structural and textural properties of the catalysts have been characterized by TEM, TGA, and XPS. Additionally, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy has been exploited to elucidate the chemical nature of carbon species deposited on the surface of MWCNTs. Al(OTf)3, a model Lewis acidic metal salt, has been successfully supported on sulfonic groups tethered to MWCNTs. This catalyst has been tested for C6 sugar dehydration for the production of HMF in a tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water solvent system with good recyclability.
Pyrolyzing Renewable Sugar and Taurine on the Surface of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Heterogeneous Catalysts for Hydroxymethylfurfural Production
