Reactions of Sucrose in the Presence of Solid Catalysts

Abstract

Carbohydrates are the most abundant organic compounds on the world. Consequently, sucrose is a molecule abundant and inexpensive. The products of sucrose hydrolysis are glucose and fructose, which are used in the food industry. The sucrose derivatives, such as esters and ethers, have interesting properties due to the presence of lipophilic and hydrophilic moieties, provided by sucrose and alkyl chain. Traditionally, these reactions are carried out over homogenous catalysts, which are widely used in chemical processes to synthesize fine and bulk chemicals. However, they have serious drawbacks of hazards in handling, difficult separation and production of toxic waste. Solid catalysts can replace the homogeneous ones for simpler and environmentally more benign processes. Heterogeneous catalysts have been used in hydrolysis, esterification and etherification reactions of sucrose. In this work, the use of different solid catalysts for the conversion of sucrose (by hydrolysis, esterification and etherification) will be reviewed.