Effective Production of 2,5‐Dimethylfuran from Biomass–derived 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural on ZrO2‐doped Graphite Electrode

Abstract The 2,5‐dimethylfuran (DMF), a promising biofuel, was effectively produced from biomass‐derived 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) on a novel ZrO 2 ‐doped graphite electrode by a two‐step method in this study. Firstly, the HMF was obtained from fructose using ZnCl 2 as catalyst and NH 4 Br as promoter, and the highest yield of HMF reached 96 %. Then, the effective conversion of DMF from HMF was achieved on the ZrO 2 ‐doped graphite electrode. The ZrO 2 was characterized to be monoclinic phase. The highest yield of DMF reached 30.7 % on the 8 % ZrO 2 ‐doped graphite electrode.