Surface functionalization of graphene oxide by sulfonation method to catalyze the synthesis of furfural from sugarcane bagasse

Recently, graphene-based material as a catalyst has crucially shown a novel strategy in furfural synthesis from biomass resources. In this study, sulfonated graphene oxide (SGO) was studied within five different graphene oxide to sulfanilic acid mass ratios of 1:1.5, 1:2.0, 1:2.5, 1:3.0, and 1:3.5 for facile synthesis of furfural from sugarcane bagasse. The structural investigation of those samples was proceeded through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The appropriate sample with the sulfur mass percentage of 3.51 %, corresponding to the ratio of 1:3.5, gives out the highest furfural yield was then, conducted with X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller for further morphological analysis. The influence of catalyst dose, reaction temperature, and time on the yield of furfural using this catalyst revealed that under reaction conditions of 190 degrees C for 90 min, reaction in a low dose of 5 wt% of SGO solution gave out the highest conversion of furfural (20.6 %). According to the results, SGO showed high application potential for the synthesis of furfural from sugarcane bagasse.