Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Versatile CO2 Transformations into Complex Products: A One-pot Two-step Strategy
Published on: November 9, 2019
Multigram Synthesis of Pure HMF and BHMF
Giacomo Trapasso1, Giovanna Mazzi1, Beatriz Chícharo1
1Department of Environmental Sciences Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino, 155, 30170 Mestre, Venezia, Italy.
Abstract:
5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a bio-based platform chemical that can be used as a building block to produce several compounds with diverse applications. Even though HMF synthesis holds promise for a greener future, the current state of technology and the high production cost limit its competitiveness on an industrial scale. In this prospect, we have developed a multigram-scale procedure for HMF by reacting d-fructose with Purolite CT275DR-an acidic resin-in a dimethyl carbonate (DMC)/tetraethyl ammonium bromide (TEAB) biphasic system. Reactions performed in an autoclave for 2 h at 110 °C using up to 40 gram of d-fructose resulted in an overall HMF yield of 70%. HMF was purified by a custom-made procedure leading to ca 50% of the pure crystalline product; meanwhile, the residual HMF-rich oil was directly reduced to bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF). Green metrics and the Ecoscale algorithm were used to evaluate the sustainability of the herein-proposed procedure in comparison with previously reported works.
Related Concept Videos
¹H NMR: Complex Splitting
Splitting diagrams or splitting tree diagrams are routinely used to depict such complex couplings. While drawing splitting diagrams, the splitting with the larger coupling constant is usually applied...
Preparation of 1° Amines: Gabriel Synthesis
Strong bases like NaOH or KOH deprotonate the phthalimide to form the corresponding anion, which acts as a nucleophile. Further, the anion attacks an...
Aldehydes and Ketones with HCN: Cyanohydrin Formation Overview
NMR Spectroscopy of Benzene Derivatives
Prochirality
¹H NMR Chemical Shift Equivalence: Enantiotopic and Diastereotopic Protons
In chiral compounds such as 2-butanol, replacing the methylene hydrogens at C3 produces a pair of...

