The selective production of aromatic chemicals such as benzene, toluene and xylenes from biomass-derived furans are quite challenging since zeolites and other supported heterogeneous catalysts are easily deactivated by trapping oligomeric species over their pores. Herein, a series of zirconium phosphates (ZrP) grafted on ordered mesoporous architectures of silicas was prepared by nonhydrolytic sol-gel method, and evaluated for the selective production of valuable para-xylene (pX) by catalytic reaction of 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) with gaseous ethylene through tandem Diels-Alder cycloaddition and dehydration reactions. The surface properties such as P/Zr ratio, Brönsted (B) to Lewis (L) acid sites and grafting layer thickness of the ZrP grafted silica catalysts were largely altered by changing P/Zr ratios and parent mesoporous silica surfaces. The amounts and strengths of acidic sites including B and L sites from the active (Zr–O)₂–PO(OH) and (Zr–O)₃–PO species were crucial factors for the differences in pX production rate on the ZrP grafted KIT-6, SBA-15 and fumed SiO₂.

从生物质衍生的呋喃中选择性生产芳香族化学品（例如苯，甲苯和二甲苯）具有很大的挑战性，因为沸石和其他负载型多相催化剂很容易因将低聚物种捕获在其孔中而失活。在此，通过非水解溶胶-凝胶法制备了一系列接枝在二氧化硅有序介孔结构上的磷酸锆（ZrP），并对其选择性生产有价值的对位进行了评估。通过串联Diels-Alder环加成和脱水反应使2,5-二甲基呋喃（DMF）与气态乙烯催化反应生成二甲苯（pX）。ZrP接枝二氧化硅催化剂的表面性能，如P / Zr比值，布朗斯台德（B）到路易斯酸（L）的酸位和接枝层厚度，通过改变P / Zr比值和母体介孔二氧化硅表面而大大改变。活性（Zr–O）₂ –PO（OH）和（Zr–O）₃ –PO物种的酸性位点（包括B和L位点）的数量和强度是嫁接ZrP上pX生产率差异的关键因素KIT-6，SBA-15和气相SiO ₂。