Theoretical Elucidation of Glucose Dehydration to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Catalyzed by a SO3H-Functionalized Ionic Liquid

While the catalytic conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) catalyzed by SO3H-functioned ionic liquids (ILs) has been achieved successfully, the relevant molecular mechanism is still not understood well. Choosing 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [C(4)SO(3)HmimCl] as a representative of SO3H-functioned IL, this work presents a density functional theory (DFT) study on the catalytic mechanism for conversion of glucose into HMF. It is found that the conversion may proceed via two potential pathways and that throughout most of elementary steps, the cation of the IL plays a substantial role, functioning as a proton shuttle to promote the reaction. The chloride anion interacts with the substrate and the acidic proton in the imidazolium ring via H-bonding, as well as provides a polar environment together with the imidazolium cation to stabilize intermediates and transition states. The calculated overall barriers of the catalytic conversion along two potential pathways are 32.9 and 31.0 kcal/mol, respectively, which are compatible with the observed catalytic performance of the IL under mild conditions (100 degrees C). The present results provide help for rationalizing the effective conversion of glucose to HMF catalyzed by SO3H-functionalized ILs and for designing IL catalysts used in biomass conversion chemistry.