Catalytic fructose dehydration to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural on the surface of sulfonic acid modified ordered mesoporous SBA-16

[Display omitted] •Sulfonic acid functionalized SBA-16 was successfully prepared.•The prepared nanocomposite was used as an effective catalyst for HMF production.•The highest HMF yield of 91% was achieved in DMSO/water mixture from fructose.•The catalyst exhibited excellent stability and reusability. Catalytic application of propylsulfonic acid modified mesoporous SBA-16 for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) production was described for the first time. This material (SO3H@SBA-16) was produced by a simple two steps method involving the grafting of mercaptopropyl groups to SBA-16 and oxidation to sulfonic acid groups with H2O2. Using a combination of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and acid-base titration techniques, the successful immobilization of propylsulfonic acid groups on SBA-16 was assessed. In addition, X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses confirmed that the mesostructure of SBA-16 was preserved during the grafting of propylsulfonic acid groups. It was found that SO3H@SBA-16 exhibited outstanding catalytic efficiency and recyclability in fructose conversion to HMF. Various reaction conditions were examined and high yield of HMF (91 %) was achieved after 60 min at 110 °C in DMSO/water (2:1, v:v).