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. 2021 Jan 12;26(2):348.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26020348.

Catalytic Conversion of Glucose into Levulinic Acid Using 2-Phenyl-2-Imidazoline Based Ionic Liquid Catalyst

Komal Kumar  1 , Mukesh Kumar  1 , Sreedevi Upadhyayula  1
Affiliations

Catalytic Conversion of Glucose into Levulinic Acid Using 2-Phenyl-2-Imidazoline Based Ionic Liquid Catalyst

Komal Kumar et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Levulinic acid (LA) is an industrially important product that can be catalytically valorized into important value-added chemicals. In this study, hydrothermal conversion of glucose into levulinic acid was attempted using Brønsted acidic ionic liquid catalyst synthesized using 2-phenyl-2-imidazoline, and 2-phenyl-2-imidazoline-based ionic liquid catalyst used in this study was synthesized in the laboratory using different anions (NO3, H2PO4, and Cl) and characterized using 1H NMR, TGA, and FT-IR spectroscopic techniques. The activity trend of the Brønsted acidic ionic liquid catalysts synthesized in the laboratory was found in the following order: [C4SO3HPhim][Cl] > [C4SO3HPhim][NO3] > [C4SO3HPhim][H2PO4]. A maximum 63% yield of the levulinic acid was obtained with 98% glucose conversion at 180 °C and 3 h reaction time using [C4SO3HPhim][Cl] ionic liquid catalyst. The effect of different reaction conditions such as reaction time, temperature, ionic liquid catalyst structures, catalyst amount, and solvents on the LA yield were investigated. Reusability of [C4SO3HPhim][Cl] catalyst up to four cycles was observed. This study demonstrates the potential of the 2-phenyl-2-imidazoline-based ionic liquid for the conversion of glucose into the important platform chemical levulinic acid.

Keywords: biomass; hydrothermal conversion; ionic liquid catalyst; levulinic acid.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
FT-IR spectrum of the synthesized ILs (a–c).
Figure 2
Figure 2
TGA of the synthesized ionic liquid catalyst ([C4SO3HPhim][Cl]).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of the Brønsted acidic ionic liquids on the conversion of glucose to LA. Reaction conditions: ionic liquid = 500 mg, 100 mg glucose, 2.0 mL water, temp = 180 °C, t = 3 h.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Effect of the reaction temperature on the product yield. (b) Effect of the reaction time on LA yield. Reaction conditions: 500 mg [C4SO3HPhim][Cl], 100 mg glucose, 2.0 mL of water.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Effect of the ionic liquid loading on the product yield; reaction conditions: 100 mg glucose, 2.0 mL of water, temp = 180 °C. (b) Effect of the solvents on the glucose conversion and LA yield; reaction conditions: 100 mg glucose, 2.0 mL solvent, t = 3 h, temp = 180 °C, catalyst [C4SO3HPhim][Cl] = 500 mg.
Figure 6
Figure 6
UV–vis spectrum of purified LA and standard LA (a) UV–vis spectrum of the IL catalyst [C4SO3HPhim][Cl] (b) Reusability of the IL catalyst [C4SO3HPhim][Cl] (c).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Structure of the ionic liquid catalyst used in this study for glucose conversion to levulinic acid (LA).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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