Fabrication of mesoporous POMs/SiO(2) nanofibers through electrospinning for oxidative conversion of biomass by H(2)O(2) and oxygen

Polyoxometalate H(5)PMo(10)V(2)O(40)/SiO(2) (HPMoV/SiO(2)) nanofibers with a mesoporous structure were fabricated through combined electrospinning and surfactant-directing pore formation technique. These heterogeneous nanofibers were characterized by a wide variety of techniques to show mesoporous structure, high surface area, excellent stability, nanofiber morphology, highly efficient activity and selectivity towards the oxidation of starch and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) either by H(2)O(2) or by oxygen. POM/SiO(2) nanofibers were suitable for oxidation of starch by H(2)O(2) and oxidation of 5-HMF by O(2) with high efficiency of 0.58 mol per 100 g carboxyl content and 89.2% yield of DFF; these results are comparable with those obtained using homogeneous H(5)PMo(10)V(2)O(40) and HPMoV/SiO(2) without nanofiber morphology. Furthermore, HPMoV/SiO(2) nanofibers could be easily recycled and reused at least ten times with no significant loss of catalytic activity due to their nanofiber morphology.