Carbonaceous solid (CS) catalysts with --SO₃H, --COOH, and phenolic --OH groups were prepared by incomplete hydrothermal carbonization of cellulose followed by either sulfonation with H₂SO₄ to give carbonaceous sulfonated solid (CSS) material or by both chemical activation with KOH and sulfonation to give activated carbonaceous sulfonated solid (a-CSS) material. The obtained carbon products (CS, CSS, and a-CSS) were amorphous; the CSS material had a small surface area (<0.5 m² g⁻¹) and a high --SO₃H group concentration (0.953 mmol g⁻¹), whereas the a-CSS material had a large surface area (514 m²  g ⁻¹) and a low --SO₃H group concentration (0.172 mmol g⁻¹). The prepared materials were evaluated as catalysts for the dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM][Cl]). Remarkably high 5-HMF yields (83 %) could be obtained efficiently (80 °C and 10 min reaction time). CSS and a-CSS catalysts had similar catalytic activities and efficiencies for the conversion of fructose to 5-HMF in [BMIM][Cl]; this could be explained by the trade-off between --SO₃H group concentration (high for CSS) and surface area (high for a-CSS). The cellulose-derived catalysts and ionic liquid exhibited constant activity for five successive recycles, and thus, the methods developed provide a renewable strategy for biomass conversion.

As alcohols are ubiquitous throughout chemical science, this functional group represents a highly attractive starting material for forging new C−C bonds. Here, we demonstrate that the combination of anodic preparation of the alkoxy triphenylphosphonium ion and nickel-catalyzed cathodic reductive crosscoupling provides an efficient method to construct C(sp 2 )−C(sp 3 ) bonds, in which free alcohols and aryl bromidesboth readily available chemicalscan be directly used as coupling partners. This nickel-catalyzed paired electrolysis reaction features a broad substrate scope bearing a wide gamut of functionalities, which was illustrated by the late-stage arylation of several structurally complex natural products and pharmaceuticals.

Microcrystalline cellulose could be effectively converted into levulinic acid in pure water at 180 °C in 12 h without additives in a maximum yield of 51.5% with a cellulase-mimetic solid acid catalyst prepared without the use of sulfuric acid. Ball-milling pretreatment of cellulose improved levulinic acid yields by only a few percent, showing that the cellulose binding sites (−Cl) and catalytic sites (−SO3H) of the catalyst are key to the activity of the catalyst. The spent catalyst could be regenerated with H2O2 solution after recycling for 5 times to maintain more than 95% of its catalytic activity. Glucose used as starting material under the same reaction conditions and with the same cellulase-mimetic solid acid gave a yield of 61.5% levulinic acid. The conversion route for carbohydrates to levulinic acid in pure water with the biomimetic catalyst prepared with a H2SO4-free method provides an environmentally friendly method for producing biobased-platform chemicals from renewable resources.

An extraordinarily simple and highly-efficient chemocatalytic system for production of lactic acid (95.4% yield) from glucose at room temperature and ambient pressure is reported.

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An efficient process was developed for the dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride ([BMIM][Cl]) by using sulfated zirconia as catalyst. A fructose conversion of 95.8% with a 5-HMF yield of 88.4% was achieved in 30 min reaction time at 100 °C. The IL and sulfated zirconia could be recycled and exhibited constant activity for 6 successive trials, and 5-HMF yields of above 60% could be kept up to 10 trials. The proposed process of using an IL with sulfated zirconia solid catalyst greatly reduces the reaction temperature required over previous works for converting fructose to 5-HMF.