Sauer C, de Reijer GJL, Wilfinger B, Hellman A, Carlsson PA. Continuous isomerisation of 2,5-dimethylfuran to 2,4-dimethylfuran over Ga-silicate.
Chemistry 2024;
30:e202303810. [PMID:
38327129 DOI:
10.1002/chem.202303810]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
2,4-dimethylfuran has a rare disubstitution pattern in the five-membered heterocyclic furan ring that is highly interesting chemically but challenging to access synthetically. We present a heterogeneously catalysed route to synthesise 2,4-dimethylfuran from commonly available 2,5-dimethylfuran using a zeolite packed-bed flow reactor. As supported by DFT calculations, the reaction occurs inside the zeolite channels, where the acid sites catalyse proton transfer followed by migration of a methyl group. The zeotype Ga-silicate (MFI type) appears superior to an aluminium-containing ZSM-5 by demonstrating higher selectivities and slower catalyst deactivation. This work provides new opportunities for the continuous valorisation of bio-feedstock molecules in the perspective of the emerging biorefinery era.
Collapse