The application of graphitic nitrogen from corn stover for the selective catalytic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural

Abstract

Nitrogen atom-doped biomass carbon prepared from corn stover is a newly discovered metal-free catalyst that shows good activity on the selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) to 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF). Here, the presence of graphitic nitrogen on the catalyst surface activated the oxygen adsorbed on the carbon sites next to the graphitic nitrogen in the carbon material and promoted the formation of oxygen radicals on the surface-active sites, improving the HMF oxidation process. The results show that the catalyst NC-800 reacted with acetonitrile as the reaction solvent at 110 °C and 1.0 MPa O₂ for 8 h to obtain 93.0 % HMF conversion and 94.4 % DFF selectivity, and the 5-HMF conversion and DFF selectivity were maintained at more than 85 % after five cyclic tests, with excellent cyclic stability. One of the main factors influencing the material flaws is the variation in pyrolysis temperature. Using maize stover, a readily available and renewable biomass, in the catalytic oxidation of biomass platform compounds may improve biomass utilization more extensively.