Tuning selectivity of dihydroxyaceton condensation with catalysis

The aldol condensation of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) towards a branched hexose (= dendroketose) is investigated with basic catalysts. The reaction requires specific tuning of the basic sites to prevent DHA isomerisation towards glyceraldehyde (GLA), which leads to the formation of linear sugars such as fructose. Three different basic catalysts were chosen and developed to optimise selectivity, productivity or both. The selected catalysts are investigated via kinetic profiling and different characterisation methods to find an explanation for each catalyst's performance.