Mechanistic Insights into the Brønsted Acid-Catalyzed Dehydration of β-d-Glucose to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural under Ambient and Subcritical Conditions

Conversion of biomass to fuels and other useful chemicals is one of the most active fields of research today. In this respect, dehydration of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) has gained much attention recently. Carrying out this reaction with high efficiency in green solvents, especially in water, is a major challenge to overcome. In spite of several years of experimental and computational studies, the detailed mechanism of the...