Using taurine to increase mesopores in Ce‐based metal–organic framework for enhancing the production of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural and 5‐ethoxymethylfurfural from fructose

Abstract BACKGROUND 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and 5‐ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) are biomass‐based value‐added chemicals. Various catalytic systems have been studied for converting fructose into HMF and EMF. A more efficient and stable solid acid catalyst is highly desirable for the conversion process. RESULTS In this study, a novel taurine‐involved Ce metal organic framework material (T‐CeMOF) was synthesized by coordinating Ce to 1,3,5‐benzenetricarboxylic acid (BTC) in the presence of taurine. T‐CeMOF was analyzed with Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscoy (TEM), and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis. Results showed that the presence of taurine makes T‐CeMOF have a much larger specific pore volume than Ce based metal‐organic framwork (CeMOF), which was synthesized by coordinating Ce with the ligand BTC in absence of taurine. It is implied that T‐CeMOF has many more swinging carboxyl groups on the surface than CeMOF. In addition, the sulfonic acid group of taurine is introduced into T‐CeMOF. All of these contribute toward making sure that T‐CeMOF is effective for the conversion of fructose to HMF and EMF in ethanol. Under the catalysis of T‐CeMOF, the total yield of HMF and EMF reached 78.4% within 1 h. T‐CeMOF could be recycled and the catalytic activity of the catalyst was maintained after five cycles. CONCLUSION T‐CeMOF can be synthesized at room temperature and it achieved a high total yield of HMF and EMF in ethanol within 1 h. T‐CeMOF opens a new route for one‐pot conversion of abundant and cheap fructose‐based biomass into promising biochemicals. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI)