Glucose production from hydrolysis of cellulose over a novel silica catalyst under hydrothermal cond

A novel silica catalyst was synthesized by evaporation-induced self-assembly(EISA)method and tested for the catalytic selective hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose.This silica catalyst exhibited a higher catalytic activity than other oxides prepared by the same method,such as ZrO2,TiO2,and Al2O3.Using silica as a catalyst,cellulose was selectively hydrolyzed into glucose with a glucose yield as high as 50％ under hydrothermal conditions without hydrogen gas.The silica catalyst was characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET),X-ray diffraction(XRD)and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The results of temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia(NH3-TPD)and textural properties indicated that the synergistic effect between strong acidity and a suitable pore diameter of the silica catalyst may be responsible for its high activity.In addition,the catalyst was recyclable and showed excellent stability during the recycle catalytic runs.