The effects of emulsion on sugar dehydration to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in a biphasic system

Alkyl/amino functionalized silica nanoparticles to create an emulsion in a biphasic system for sugar dehydration to HMF were successfully developed. As a proof-of-concept, more than 10% increase of HMF yield and 20% increase of selectivity were achieved for both fructose and glucose dehydrations in the emulsion system as compared to the conventional biphasic system. The excellent recyclability of the nanoparticles also further widens the potential of the biphasic system to be scaled up for industrial application.