Porosity–Acidity Interactions in Zeolite Catalysts for Aqueous-Phase Conversion of Sugars to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

About the Project

Poly, di and monosaccharides are important sustainable feedstocks in the production of biomass-derived fuels and chemicals. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) represents a key product in the conversion of these, being a key platform chemical which enables diverse subsequent chemical transformations that yield numerous different chemical species. Within such multi-step processes, catalytic dehydration of fructose is the final step in HMF production and thus is key to the overall process.

Zeolite catalysts are attractive materials for this transformation because their well-defined pore structures and tunable acidity can strongly influence catalytic activity, selectivity, and transport behaviour under aqueous-phase reaction conditions. However, despite extensive studies, the fundamental relationships between zeolite porosity, acidic site properties, and reaction pathways remain poorly understood, particularly regarding the formation of undesired side-products such as levulinic acid and humins.

This PhD project will investigate how zeolite framework topology, hierarchical porosity, and acidity govern the aqueous-phase catalytic conversion of sugars to HMF. A series of zeolite catalysts with systematically varied pore structures and acid site distributions will be synthesised and comprehensively characterised using advanced techniques including electron microscopy, pore network imaging, spectroscopy, acidity measurements, and transport analysis. These structural insights will be correlated with detailed catalytic activity and selectivity studies to elucidate the true nature and accessibility of acidic sites responsible for dehydration reactions.

In parallel, kinetic studies will be performed to quantify reaction rates, activation energies, and transport limitations under relevant reaction conditions. The resulting experimental and kinetic data will provide key input parameters for reactive transport first-principles kinetic Monte Carlo (rt-1p-kMC) modelling, enabling multiscale understanding of the interplay between reaction and diffusion processes within porous catalytic structures. The project aims to establish mechanistic design principles for next-generation zeolite catalysts for selective biomass valorisation.