Highly porous niobium-containing silica glasses applied to the microwave-assisted conversion of fructose into HMF

Metal dispersion is key for designing highly active and well-defined catalytic systems. Herein, to shed light on the effects of Nb conversion fructose into HMF, porous silica glasses grafted with niobium oxide were prepared. Preliminary screening was done microwave-assisted 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in a biphasic system. The impregnated presented HMF productivities about 10- 20 times higher than mesoporous NbOPO4 reference material. Intriguingly, humin formation correlates yield regardless catalyst employed, although metal influences acidity profile.