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.
Read the article for free until 30th December (free registration required):
To keep up-to-date with all the latest research, sign up for the journal’s e-alerts or RSS feeds or follow Journal of Materials Chemistry on Twitter.
