Conversion of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over mesoporous-ZrO₂-phosphomolybdic acid nanocomposite catalysts

313-320A series of phosphomolybdic acid (MPA) with varying content, incorporated into the mesoporous zirconia (ZMPA) catalysts have been prepared by surfactant-assisted sol-gel copolymerization technique. These catalysts have been evaluated for selective dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF). The catalysts have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, Fourer-transform infrared spectroscopy, temperature programmed disorption, pyridine adsorbed FT-infrared spectroscopy and transmssion electron microscopy. The characterization results suggest that these catalysts possess ordered mesoporous structure with Keggin heteropoly molybdate. Moreover the incorporation of phosphomolybdic acid into mesoporous zirconia resulted in the generaton of more number of strong acidic sites. These catalysts exhibited about 80% HMF yield within 30 min of reaction time. The existence of relatively strong interactions between the MPA Keggin units with ZrO2 mesoporous structure played a crucial role in fabricating the stable heterogeneous catalyst. This catalyst has been found to be reusable with constant activity