Synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from glucose using a <i>tert</i>-butoxyapatite catalyst

In this study, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) was obtained from glucose using <i>tert</i>-butoxyapatite, a heterogeneous catalyst. The <i>tert</i>-butoxyapatite catalyst was prepared and characterized by several techniques, such as XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, elemental mapping HR-TEM, N₂-adsorption/desorption, XPS, and FT-IR. Several parameters were studied, such as temperature, catalyst loading, and glucose concentration. The <i>tert</i>-butoxyapatite catalyst having both acidic and basic sites gave a maximum glucose conversion of 87% with a 48% yield of HMF at 160 °C using 20 wt% catalyst in 12 h. Reusability studies of the catalyst are also presented.