Density functional theory simulation of heterogeneous polymerization reactions during biomass hydrothermal carbonization

Carbonaceous microspheres formed through heterogeneous polymerization reactions during hydrothermal carbonization of biomass showed a considerable effect on the mass yield and physicochemical properties of hydrochar. In exploring the growth mechanism of carbonaceous microspheres, the heterogeneous polymerization reaction of four typical organic components (5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, phenol, and p-xylene) with the surficial functional groups of carbonaceous microspheres was investigated using density functional theory (DFT). Nucleophilic addition and dehydration are the main forms of polymerization reactions, and the former shows a lower reaction energy barrier than the latter by 100 kJ/mol, indicating that the nucleophilic addition reactions likely occur compared to dehydration reactions. And phenol likely promotes the growth of microspheres. In addition, the surficial furan ring structure of carbonaceous microspheres opened through ring opening, hydrogen atom transfer, and molecular space structure conversion in sequence. Among these reaction steps, the furan ring opening through hydration was the rate-limiting reaction step, which showed the highest energy barrier with a value of 394.51 kJ/mol. However, the ring opening of furan rings could form more active sites, such as carbonyl groups, for subsequent polymerization reactions, indicating an increased potential for further reactions with aqueous-phase organic components.