ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

The interaction of 5-Hydroxymethyl Furfural (HMF) on a biochar catalyst after the addition of an oxidant and co-catalyst - MAPS

Abstract: The oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) can lead to the production of poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF) ? a polymer that could replace the petroleum based polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In this context, we have developed a naturally iron-containing biochar (BCR) catalyst from palm oil empty fruit bunch which we found to catalyse the reaction under very mild conditions by use of an organic peroxide and radical mediator co-catalyst. We have recently probed the mechanism of the catalysis to understand the molecular-scale interaction of the HMF with the BCR using INS and results show that the C-H and O-H of bending modes of HMF are observed differently when the radical initiator TEMPO as the co-catalyst was added. We now wish to probe the mechanism of the catalysis when both the co-catalyst and the oxidant are added. For HMF oxidation such mechanistic detail is missing in the literature and for our material such information will allow us to improve and optimise the catalyst further. BCR is very difficult to study by conventional vibrational spectroscopy, as the infrared spectrum is dominated by the residual oxygen functionalities and the Raman by carbon modes. INS enables the complete spectral range to be examined, and parallel proposals for MAPS (for the region above 2500 cm-1) and TOSCA (for the region below 2500 cm-1) will be submitted.

Principal Investigator: Dr Indri Badria Adilina
Experimenter: Dr Elvi Restiawaty
Experimenter: Miss Amalia Kurnia Amin
Experimenter: Mr Muhammad Arifuddin Fitriady
Experimenter: Professor Stewart Parker
Local Contact: Dr Hamish Cavaye
Experimenter: Professor Richard Walton
Experimenter: Dr Wiyanti Simanullang
Experimenter: Professor Rodiansono Rodiansono

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2510378

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2510378

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Indri Badria Adilina et al; (2025): The interaction of 5-Hydroxymethyl Furfural (HMF) on a biochar catalyst after the addition of an oxidant and co-catalyst - MAPS, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2510378

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.