Effects of water and alcohols on the polymerization of furan during its acid-catalyzed conversion into benzofuran

Furan, an important product from catalytic pyrolysis of biomass, has the potential to be further converted into value-added chemicals or biofuels. This study investigated the conversion of furan into benzofuran over a Brønsted acid catalyst (Amberlyst 70) at 140-190°C in various solvents. With water...

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Main Authors: Hu, Xun, Jiang, S., Kadarwati, S., Dong, Dehua, Li, Chun-Zhu
Format: Journal Article
Published: Royal Society of Chemistry 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27749
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author Hu, Xun
Jiang, S.
Kadarwati, S.
Dong, Dehua
Li, Chun-Zhu
author_facet Hu, Xun
Jiang, S.
Kadarwati, S.
Dong, Dehua
Li, Chun-Zhu
author_sort Hu, Xun
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Furan, an important product from catalytic pyrolysis of biomass, has the potential to be further converted into value-added chemicals or biofuels. This study investigated the conversion of furan into benzofuran over a Brønsted acid catalyst (Amberlyst 70) at 140-190°C in various solvents. With water as the solvent, furan could barely make its way to benzofuran as its polymerization dominated. With methanol as the solvent, the polymerization of furan was suppressed and benzofuran formation was enhanced substantially. This is because in methanol, the reactive intermediates (i.e., aldehydes) were stabilized and their involvement in polymerization reactions was suppressed. Other alcohols showed similar effects on suppressing polymerization. In dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), the polymerization of furan was also effectively suppressed. However, furan was not converted to benzofuran but to levulinic acid via a distinct reaction route.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-277492017-09-13T15:10:44Z Effects of water and alcohols on the polymerization of furan during its acid-catalyzed conversion into benzofuran Hu, Xun Jiang, S. Kadarwati, S. Dong, Dehua Li, Chun-Zhu Furan, an important product from catalytic pyrolysis of biomass, has the potential to be further converted into value-added chemicals or biofuels. This study investigated the conversion of furan into benzofuran over a Brønsted acid catalyst (Amberlyst 70) at 140-190°C in various solvents. With water as the solvent, furan could barely make its way to benzofuran as its polymerization dominated. With methanol as the solvent, the polymerization of furan was suppressed and benzofuran formation was enhanced substantially. This is because in methanol, the reactive intermediates (i.e., aldehydes) were stabilized and their involvement in polymerization reactions was suppressed. Other alcohols showed similar effects on suppressing polymerization. In dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), the polymerization of furan was also effectively suppressed. However, furan was not converted to benzofuran but to levulinic acid via a distinct reaction route. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27749 10.1039/c6ra04745a Royal Society of Chemistry unknown
spellingShingle Hu, Xun
Jiang, S.
Kadarwati, S.
Dong, Dehua
Li, Chun-Zhu
Effects of water and alcohols on the polymerization of furan during its acid-catalyzed conversion into benzofuran
title Effects of water and alcohols on the polymerization of furan during its acid-catalyzed conversion into benzofuran
title_full Effects of water and alcohols on the polymerization of furan during its acid-catalyzed conversion into benzofuran
title_fullStr Effects of water and alcohols on the polymerization of furan during its acid-catalyzed conversion into benzofuran
title_full_unstemmed Effects of water and alcohols on the polymerization of furan during its acid-catalyzed conversion into benzofuran
title_short Effects of water and alcohols on the polymerization of furan during its acid-catalyzed conversion into benzofuran
title_sort effects of water and alcohols on the polymerization of furan during its acid-catalyzed conversion into benzofuran
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27749