RSC Publishing China

Hydrolysis of polysaccharides in unused biomass offers a sustainable method to produce glucose and other chemicals derived from it.

In an effort to make the process more commercially viable, scientists at Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, China, have designed and synthesized efficient catalysts for the hydrolysis of starch and cellulose based on copolymers of poly(acrylic acid) and poly(styrene sulfonic acid). The random copolymer PAA-r-PSSH gave the highest glucose yield among the prepared catalysts which the team attribute to the synergic effect of the SO₃H and COOH groups in the polymer chain.

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Sulfonated copolymers with SO3H and COOH groups for the hydrolysis of polysaccharides
Xiutao Li, Yijun Jiang, Li Shuai, Lili Wang, Lingqian Meng and Xindong Mu
J. Mater. Chem., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1JM12954F

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