Selective hydrolysis of cellulose into glucose over solid acid catalysts

The mildly hydrothermal method using solid acid catalysts for the glucose production from cellulose can be one of the key technologies for a future sustainable society using cellulose biomass. This article is the first to indicate solid acid catalysis for the hydrolysis of cellulose with β-1,4-glycosidic bonds into glucose selectively higher than 90 C-%. Among the solid acid catalysts we tested, such as the H-form zeolite catalysts and the sulfated and sulfonated catalysts, a sulfonated activated-carbon catalyst showed a remarkably high yield of glucose, which was due to the high hydrothermal stability and the excellent catalytic property attributed to the strong acid sites of SO₃H functional groups and the hydrophobic planes.