Solvent Effects on Degradative Condensation Side Reactions of Fructose in Its Initial Conversion to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural.

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Liangfang Zhu and Changwei Hu at Sichuan University. The image shows a general understanding on the solvent-controlled formation of oligomers (the possible precursors of humins) accompanying with formation of small-molecular carboxylic acids as by-products in the initial reaction stage of fructose dehydration. The Full Paper itself is available at 10.1002/cssc.201902309.