Advances in catalytic hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2, 5-bishydroxymethylfuran

2, 5-bishydroxymethylfuran (BHMF) has important applications in synthetic resins and drugs. The conversion from biomass based platform molecule, 5-hydroxylmethylfurfural (HMF), to BHMF has attracted extensive attention. On the basis of summarizing the physical and chemical properties of HMF and BHMF, the advances in the preparation of BHMF by catalytic hydrogenation of HMF in terms of the diversity of hydrogen sources were comprehensively generalized, mainly including molecular H2, alcohols, formic acid. The application of noble metal, non-precious metal, bi-metal or multi-metal co-catalysts systems was summarized. What's more, the effects of different reaction temperature, time, catalyst carrier, solvent type and acid value and other factors on HMF conversion and BHMF selectivity were evaluated. Finally, the prospect of the preparation of BHMF by catalytic conversion of HMF was summarized and forecasted, and the use of alcohols instead of hydrogen as hydrogen donors was proposed. The development of non-noble metal and metal co-catalysis system is one of the important research directions of this selective hydrogenation reaction. © 2019, Chemical Industry Press. All right reserved.