LAUSR

MeSAPO-11 molecular sieves were synthesized from attapulgite by the hydrothermal method with the addition of fluorine for the dehydration of carbohydrates to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), where cheap attapulgite served as the single Si and Me and partial Al sources. The results showed that MeSAPO-11 (Si/Al molar ratio = 0.25) had an outstanding catalytic performance, where a HMF yield of 78.2% was obtained at 170 °C within 1.5 h. XRD, SEM, and UV-Vis experiments were conducted to study the morphologies and the structure of MeSAPO-11 molecular sieves. Research results indicated that MeSAPO-11(0.25) had higher acidity and better catalytic performance due to more surface acidic sites.