A Simple and Mild Approach for the Synthesis of p‐Xylene from Bio‐Based 2, 5‐Dimethyfuran by Using Metal Triflates. Issue 11 (30th March 2017) - Ni, Lingli
Abstract: The production of aromatic platform chemicals from biomass‐derived feedstocks is of considerable importance in biomass conversion. However, the development of effective routes with simple steps and under mild conditions is still challenging. In this work, we report an original route for the direct synthesis of p ‐xylene from 2, 5‐dimethylfuran and acrylic acid catalyzed by scandium(III) triflate (Sc(OTf)3 ) in 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Emim]NTf2 ) under mild conditions. An overall 63 % selectivity towards p ‐xylene and 78 % selectivity towards aromatics were obtained at 90 % conversion of 2, 5‐dimethylfuran by enhancing the dehydration and introducing an extra one‐pot decarboxylation step. Furthermore, various dienes and dienophiles were employed as reactants to extend the substrate scope. The aromatic compounds were obtained in moderate yields, which proved the potential of the method to be a generic approach for the conversion of bio‐based furanics into renewable aromatics. Abstract : A triflate synthesis of xylene : Renewable p ‐xylene is directly synthesized from biomass‐derived 2, 5‐dimethylfuran and acrylic acid over scandium(III) triflate (Sc(OTf)3 ) and H3 PO4 in 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Emim]NTf2 ) under mild conditions. A subsequent one‐pot decarboxylation step results in an overall 63 % selectivity towards p ‐xylene at 90 % conversion of 2, 5‐dimethylfuran.