Issue 4, 2010

Microwave-assisted hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose catalyzed by biomass char sulfonic acids

Abstract

The development of an environmentally benign process for the hydrolysis of cellulose into reducing sugars can be one of the key technologies for making full use of cellulosic biomass in the future. Here, a biomass char sulfonic acid (BC-SO3H)-catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulose in water was achieved under microwave irradiation. The BC-SO3H catalysts prepared cheaply from natural bamboo, cotton and starch, showed a much higher turnover number (TON, 1.33-1.73) for this reaction compared to a dilute H2SO4 solution (TON, 0.02), which was likely due to their strong affinity to β-1,4-glycosidic bonds of cellulose. In addition, microwave irradiation played key roles in activating cellulose molecules and strengthening particle collision, which can lead to a remarkable acceleration effect on this heterogeneously catalytic process.

Graphical abstract: Microwave-assisted hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose catalyzed by biomass char sulfonic acids

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Sep 2009
Accepted
21 Nov 2009
First published
24 Feb 2010

Green Chem., 2010,12, 696-700

Microwave-assisted hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose catalyzed by biomass char sulfonic acids

Y. Wu, Z. Fu, D. Yin, Q. Xu, F. Liu, C. Lu and L. Mao, Green Chem., 2010, 12, 696 DOI: 10.1039/B917807D

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