A highly efficient iron phthalocyanine-intercalated CuFe-LDH catalyst for the selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 5-formyl-2-furanic acid

A catalyst with high selectivity for the catalytic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 5-formyl-2-furanic acid (FFCA) in alkaline media was successfully developed by ultrasonic intercalation of a copper‑iron layered double hydroxide (CuFe-LDH) platelets with an iron phthalocyanine (FePc) complex. The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, H2O2 concentration, NaOH concentration and amount of catalyst on HMF conversion and FFCA selectivity were systematically investigated. Under the optimized testing condition the developed FePc-CuFe catalyst delivered a HMF conversion of 85% with a FFCA selectivity of 81.8%. Further, the catalyst showed excellent stability over 5 testing cycles.