One-pot synthesis of 2,5-bis(propoxymethyl)furan from 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural by using the supported copper catalyst and hierarchical pore ZSM-5 zeolite

The highly-efficient conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-bis(propoxymethyl)furan was achieved via the one-pot route, which were performed by the combination of supported copper catalyst and hierarchical pore ZSM-5 zeolite. Among the supported copper catalyst, the Cu/Al2O3 catalyst exhibited the excellent activity and selectivity in the hydrogenation of HMF, obtaining a 98.7% yield of BHMF at 100 degrees C for 6 h under 2.5 MPa of H2. The reason might be attributed to that the highly dispersed copper particles and relatively weaker acid sites, which improved the hydrogenation activity of catalyst and suppressed the occurrence of side reaction. In the onepot synthesis of BPMF, the Cu/Al2O3 catalyst and HP-ZSM-5 zeolite were responsible for HMF hydrogenation and BHMF etherification, respectively, and the competition between them is negligible. This work provides a simple route to produce furanic diether from HMF.