Synthesis of carbon-based bifunctional Lewis/Brønsted acid catalysts for 5-HMF production from cellobiose
(2026) Women and Girls in Science Day 2026 — Location: UNamur (12.February.2026)
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- Abstract
- Lignocellulosic biomass represents a valuable renewable feedstock for the synthesis of numerous green chemicals. Among the possible products that can be obtained from its degradation, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is a high added-value platform molecule that can be recovered from its cellulosic component via a three-step reaction promoted by both Brønsted and Lewis acid sites (Figure 1) [1]. In this study, we present a straightforward approach to synthesize efficient bifunctional catalysts by grafting benzyl sulfonic moieties (Brønsted sites) onto a carbon support (SX+ from NORIT, fraction < 50μm) functionalized with aluminosilicate patches (Lewis sites) grown from the precursor di-sec-butoxyaluminoxytriethoxysilane [2]. The resulting bifunctional catalysts (Figure 2) were extensively characterized and their catalytic performance investigated for the upgrading of cellobiose to 5-HMF. Bifunctional catalyst I4@BATEOS/SO3H, with an average pore size of 45.8 Å and a total acidity of 1.25 mmol g−1, was found to be the best performing material, yielding 37% of 5-HMF out of a 96% conversion of the initial cellobiose feed when tested over 23 h at 423 K in a designed solvent mixture. No significant side products were observed after 23 h, confirming the high selectivity of the catalyst.
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Tonelli, A. (2026). Synthesis of carbon-based bifunctional Lewis/Brønsted acid catalysts for 5-HMF production from cellobiose. Women and Girls in Science Day 2026, UNamur. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/266593