Fast Transformation of Glucose and Di-/Polysaccharides into 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural by Microwave Heating in an Ionic Liquid/Catalyst System

An efficient method for converting glucose into 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (5‐HMF), in the presence of CrCl3 catalyst, is developed by using the ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐3‐methyl imidazolium chloride as solvent. A 5‐HMF yield of 71 % is achieved in 30 s for 96 % glucose conversion with microwave heating at 140 °C. The activation energy of glucose conversion is determined to be 114.6 kJ mol−1, with a pre‐exponential factor of 3.5×1014 min−1. Fructose, sucrose, cellobiose, and cellulose are studied and 5‐HMF yields of 54 % are obtained for cellulose conversion at 150 °C during 10 min of reaction time. Recycling of the ionic liquid and CrCl3 is demonstrated with six cycles of use. When in chrome…︁: An effective process for the fast transformation (within minutes) of glucose, fructose, sucrose, cellobiose and cellulose into 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural is developed. The process makes use of a recyclable system comprising an ionic liquid and CrCl3 as catalyst.