The growing demand of fossil fuel resources comes at a time of diminishing reserves of these non-renewable resources. To sustain modern civilization an alternative resource must be found to continue the supply of energy and chemicals. Being renewable, biomass is the only sustainable source of energy and organic carbon. Utilizing straightforward chemical methods, biomass can be transformed into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a platform chemical that can serve as an important intermediate to biofuels and commodity chemicals. 5-HMF is an important bio-sourced intermediate, formed from carbohydrates such as fructose. This thesis describes the reaction systems for the selective conversion of fructose to HMF using KIT-6-Pr-SO 3 H as a heterogeneous catalyst. Well-ordered KIT-6 mesoporous silica was synthesized via a sol-gel process and functionalized with sulfonic acid groups. The catalyst was characterized using XRD, BET, TGA, SEM, and TEM techniques. The prepared catalyst was used to catalyze the conversion of fructose to 5- hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) in DMSO. Various reaction parameters such as effect of reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst loading, and solvent on HMF yield were investigated. A higher HMF yield was obtained at 165 ?C after 30 min in DMSO. The reaction is quite selective toward HMF. The catalyst was used several times without significant losing its catalytic effect.
