An Effective Heterogeneous Catalyst of [BMIM](3)PMo12O40 for Selective Sugar Epimerization

作者:Bayu, Asep; Yoshida, Akihiro; Karnjanakom, Surachai; Zuo, Zhijun; Hao, Xiaogang; Abudula, Abuliti; Guan, Guoqing*
来源:ChemPlusChem, 2018, 83(5): 383-389.
DOI:10.1002/cplu.201800154

摘要

The development of heterogeneous catalysts for the epimerization of sugars has received much less attention than that for the isomerization of sugars. To date, molybdates are the most effective catalysts for the epimerization of sugars, although they lack stability toward hydrolysis of their active sites in water. To solve the issue of the formation of a highly water-soluble heteropolyblue (PMored) for phosphomolybdates (PMos) in aqueous reaction systems, herein, a 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium phosphomolybdate ([BMIM](3)PMo12O40) was synthesized through an ion-exchange method. This catalyst was effective and selective for the C2-epimerization of sugars under mild reaction conditions (<100 degrees C; 1-2h) with good water-tolerant properties. The reaction was confirmed to occur in a heterogeneous manner and no leaching of PMored was detected by means of UV/Vis spectroscopy. Moreover, the catalyst can be simply separated by filtration and reused for at least eight cycles without a drop in catalytic activity. XRD, FTIR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements indicate that the catalyst is stable under the reaction conditions. In a comparison of the catalytic activity and surface wettability with those of other PMo salts, that is, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium phosphomolybdate ([EMIM](3)PMo12O40), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium ([HexMIM](3)PMo12O40), [choline](3)PMo12O40, and cetyltrimethylammonium phosphomolybdate ([CTA](3)PMo12O40), it is found that [BMIM](3)PMo12O40 has more appropriate hydrophobic-hydrophilic balance, which should be responsible for better catalytic activity and stability.