Formation of Formic Acid from Glucose with Simultaneous Conversion of Ag2O to Ag under Mild Hydrothermal Conditions

Abstract

<p>Formation of formic acid from renewable biomass resources is of great interest since formic acid is a widely used platform chemical and has recently been regarded as an important liquid hydrogen carrier. Herein, a novel approach is reported for the conversion of glucose, the constituent carbohydrate from cellulose fraction of biomass, to formic acid under mild hydrothermal conditions with simultaneous reduction of Ag<sub>2</sub>O to Ag. Results showed that glucose was selectively converted to formic acid with an optimum yield of 40.7% at a mild reaction temperature of 135 for 30 min. In addition, Ag<sub>2</sub>O was used as a solid oxidant for the glucose oxidation, which avoids the use of traditionally dangerous liquid oxidant H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. Furthermore, complete conversion of Ag<sub>2</sub>O to Ag can be achieved. This study not only developed a new method for value-added chemical production from renewable biomass but also explored an alternative low-carbon and energy-saving route for silver extraction and recovery.</p>