Catalytic dehydration of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural by propyl sulfonic acid functionalized magnetic graphene oxide nanocomposite

Covalent immobilization of propyl sulfonic acid groups on the surface of magnetic graphene oxide is reported as an efficient magnetically recoverable solid acid catalyst for the conversion of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). The obtained nanocomposite has advantages of both graphene oxide (high surface area) and magnetic nanoparticles (fast and facile separation by a magnet). The numerous reaction parameters including solvent, reaction time, temperature, and amount of catalyst were optimized to attain maximum yield of 5-HMF. The results revealed that fructose could be effectively transformed into 5-HMF with a yield of 87% under the optimized reaction conditions. The catalyst could be magnetically separated from the reaction mixture. Moreover, the catalyst exhibited high stability and could be reused for at least five times without a discernible loss of catalytic performance.