Effect of Support in Heterogeneous Ruthenium Catalysts Used for the Selective Aerobic Oxidation of HMF in Water

Heterogeneous ruthenium-based catalysts were applied in the selective, aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, a versatile biomass-derived chemical, to form 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid. The oxidation reactions were performed in water with dioxygen as the oxidant at different pressures without added base. Catalysts were prepared by depositing catalytically active Ru(OH)x species on a number of different supports, such as titanium-, aluminum-, cerium-, zirconium-, magnesium- and lanthanum oxides, magnetite, spinel, hydrotalcite and hydroxyapatite. All the catalysts were found to be active in the oxidation reactions, and the choice of support was demonstrated to be important for the catalytic performance.