Development of betaine-based sustainable catalyst for green conversion of carbohydrates and biomass into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.

This work develops renewable and sustainable betaine-based catalysts (BX), which are derived from betaine sugar industry or ChCl, for the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from various carbohydrates. In particular, in these BX-based medium, HMF yields reached up to 88%, 66%, 37% and 53%, when conversing fructose, glucose, cellulose and lignocellulosic biomass respectively. In addition, choline-O-sulfate (ChOS) was synthesized and demonstrated as an efficient catalyst for the conversion of fructose to HMF. From the perspective of green and sustainable chemistry, this work demonstrates green benefits not only preparing sustainable catalysts but also demonstrating green production of HMF from biomass.