Abstract:
Conversion of cellulose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) catalyzed by SnCl
4 in ZnCl
2 solution with microwave was studied. The effects of microwave power, cellulose content, concentration of ZnCl
2, reaction time and the molar ratio of SnCl
4 to cellulose on the yields of 5-HMF were investigated. The results showed that under the optimum reaction condition of 1.0 g cellulose dissolved in 100 mL 70% ZnCl
2 solution, the molar ratio of SnCl
4 to cellulose of 2:1, the microwave power of 420 W, and the reaction time of 9 min, the yield of 5-HMF reaches 39.4%.