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One-pot synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from cellulose or glucose through employing a concentrated solution of LiBr as solvent together with a combined metal (II) and surfactant catalyst was studied. First, cellulose was dissolved in the solvent, and then it was hydrolyzed with hydrogen bromide (HBr) under moderate conditions before the solution was neutralized. The next step toward HMF synthesis was performed at 140 °C for 3 h with the addition of the abovementioned catalyst at a 10 mol% level of the substrate. Metal (II) chlorides that could serve as a Lewis acid (i.e., catalysts), or combined metal (II) and surfactant catalysts, were adopted for converting glucose to HMF. The yield of HMF reached 30.5% from glucose, and 33.8% from cellulose when tin (II) dodecylsulfate was used as a Lewis acid catalyst. The catalyst containing tin (II) yielded better results than those that contained zinc (II) or copper (II). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]