Unfolding the role of molybdenum disulfide as a catalyst to produce platform chemicals from biorenewable resources

Catalytic application of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) for the production of high-value chemicals from the lignocellulosic biomass is investigated for the first time. In particular, the synthesis of 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF), and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from biomass-derived resources in the presence of inexpensive and readily available MoS2 catalyst via microwave-assisted heating has been studied. The experiments were performed at 100 to 160 °C temperature for 2 to 30 min reaction time in a microwave reactor. Accordingly, the experimental conditions such as reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst concentration, and feed concentration were optimized for the maximum yield of EMF from the fructose. As a result, maximum 93.3 mol% EMF yield was measured at 160 °C reaction temperature in 30 min when experiments were performed in the presence of 0.3 mmol MoS2 for fructose conversion. It was also observed that the molybdenum disulfide selectively produces EMF in a higher amount with negligible byproducts under optimum operating conditions. Post this, a range of alcohols such as methanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, and 1-pentanol were tested for the production of different alkoxymethylfurfurals, which showed more than 95% fructose conversion in all cases. Similarly, a wide range of substrates such as glucose, galactose, mannose, and cellulose were tested, which resulted in significant production of EMF. Notably, the EMFs obtained from the experiments can be used as a precursor to producing a vast range of chemicals like polymers, fragrance, plasticizer, resins, fuel additives, and fuel.