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Title: Tandem mass spectrometric characterization of the conversion of xylose to furfural

Journal Article · · Biomass and Bioenergy

We report thermal decomposition of xylose into furfural under acidic conditions has been studied using tandem mass spectrometry. Two different Brønsted acids, maleic and sulfuric acids, were used to demonstrate that varying the Brønsted acid does not affect the mechanism of the reaction. Two selectively labeled xylose molecules, 1-13C and 5-13C-xyloses, were examined to determine which carbon atom is converted to the aldehyde carbon in furfural. This can be done by using tandem mass spectrometry since collision-activated dissociation (CAD) of protonated unlabeled furfural results in the loss of CO from the aldehyde moiety. The loss of a neutral molecule with MW of 29 Da (13CO) was observed for protonated furfural derived from 1-13C-labeled xylose while the loss of a neutral molecule with MW of 28 Da (CO) was observed for protonated furfural derived from 5-13C labeled xylose. These results support the hypothesis that the mechanism of formation of furfural under mildly hot acidic conditions involves an intramolecular rearrangement of protonated xylose into the pyranose form rather than into an open-chain form.

Research Organization:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Direct Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels (C3Bio) (C3Bio)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC000997; SC0000997
OSTI ID:
1384962
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1250593
Journal Information:
Biomass and Bioenergy, Vol. 74, Issue C; Related Information: C3Bio partners with Purdue University (lead); Argonne National Laboratory; National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Northeastern University; University of Tennessee; ISSN 0961-9534
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 10 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (1)

Biobased Furanics: Kinetic Studies on the Acid Catalyzed Decomposition of 2-Hydroxyacetyl Furan in Water Using Brönsted Acid Catalysts journal April 2017