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Article

Highly Efficient Conversion of Fructose to Furan Compounds in Ethanol Using Sulfonated Polymers with Solvent Moieties to Inhibit Product Degradation

by
Yao Tang
1,
Chaojie Zhang
1,
Xinyu Bai
1,
Hengli Qian
1,
Chao Xie
1,
Tianliang Xia
1,
Guanjie Yu
1,
Fei Qu
1,
Ziteng Hao
1,
Jingrong Wang
1,
Anna Rui
1,
Haixin Guo
2,
Meiting Ju
1,* and
Qidong Hou
1,*
1
National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomass Resource Utilization, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
2
Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, No. 31 Fukang Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300191, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Molecules 2026, 31(4), 729; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31040729
Submission received: 28 January 2026 / Revised: 10 February 2026 / Accepted: 16 February 2026 / Published: 20 February 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Catalytic Conversion of Biomass-Derived Molecules)
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Abstract

The catalytic dehydration of fructose to 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) in ethanol provides a promising approach for low-carbon chemical production. However, current catalytic systems generally suffer from a trade-off between reaction efficiency and product selectivity. Herein, we show that incorporating solvent moieties to sulfonated polymer enables the highly efficient conversion of fructose to furan compounds in ethanol via restraining product degradation. The co-polymerization of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidinone, with divinylbenzene (DVB) and sodium p-styrene sulfonate (SPSS) gave 1.5VP/0.64SPSS/0.37DVB that has slightly lower acid contents and inferior pore structure than the co-polymer of DVB and SPSS. The 1.5VP/0.64SPSS/0.37DVB catalyst exhibited maximal EMF yield of 81.9% with a total furan yield of 92.7%, Which is remarkably higher than previous reports. Moreover, the 1.5VP/0.64SPSS/0.37DVB catalyst gave a high HMF yield in pure tetrahydrofuran. The superior performance was attributed to the improved stability of the product. Our findings will instruct the design of active and selective catalysts to facilitate the production of biomass-derived products.
Keywords: biomass; fructose; dehydration; 5-ethoxymethylfurfural; Brønsted acid biomass; fructose; dehydration; 5-ethoxymethylfurfural; Brønsted acid
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MDPI and ACS Style

Tang, Y.; Zhang, C.; Bai, X.; Qian, H.; Xie, C.; Xia, T.; Yu, G.; Qu, F.; Hao, Z.; Wang, J.; et al. Highly Efficient Conversion of Fructose to Furan Compounds in Ethanol Using Sulfonated Polymers with Solvent Moieties to Inhibit Product Degradation. Molecules 2026, 31, 729. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31040729

AMA Style

Tang Y, Zhang C, Bai X, Qian H, Xie C, Xia T, Yu G, Qu F, Hao Z, Wang J, et al. Highly Efficient Conversion of Fructose to Furan Compounds in Ethanol Using Sulfonated Polymers with Solvent Moieties to Inhibit Product Degradation. Molecules. 2026; 31(4):729. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31040729

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tang, Yao, Chaojie Zhang, Xinyu Bai, Hengli Qian, Chao Xie, Tianliang Xia, Guanjie Yu, Fei Qu, Ziteng Hao, Jingrong Wang, and et al. 2026. "Highly Efficient Conversion of Fructose to Furan Compounds in Ethanol Using Sulfonated Polymers with Solvent Moieties to Inhibit Product Degradation" Molecules 31, no. 4: 729. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31040729

APA Style

Tang, Y., Zhang, C., Bai, X., Qian, H., Xie, C., Xia, T., Yu, G., Qu, F., Hao, Z., Wang, J., Rui, A., Guo, H., Ju, M., & Hou, Q. (2026). Highly Efficient Conversion of Fructose to Furan Compounds in Ethanol Using Sulfonated Polymers with Solvent Moieties to Inhibit Product Degradation. Molecules, 31(4), 729. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31040729

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