Bridging the gap between cellulose chemistry and heterogeneous catalysis

Although cellulosic biomass offers a promising alternative as an abundant renewable resource in the production of biofuels and platform chemicals, so far only a few studies have reported its aqueous-phase conversion into glucose or sugar alcohols using solid chemocatalysts. The principal reason is that these polymeric biomolecules with semi-crystalline structure cannot penetrate the pores of conventional heterogeneous chemocatalysts. New advances in the conversion of cellulose thus require the design of efficient multifunctional catalytic systems with sterically accessible acid and metal sites.