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Synthesis and Acid Catalysis of Cellulose-Derived Carbon-Based Solid Acid

Satoshi Suganuma 1Keiko Ichikawa 1Masaaki Kitano 2Kiyotaka Nakajima 1Hideki Kato 1Shigenobu Hayashi 3Michikazu Hara 1,2

1. Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan
2. Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki 213-0012, Japan
3. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 5, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8565, Japan

Abstract

Carbon-based solid acid, amorphous carbon consisting of graphene sheets with sulfonic acid groups, functions as an efficient catalyst for liquid-phase acid catalyzed reactions. In the present work, the catalysis-related structure has been studied. Structural analyses by solid-state NMR and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the carbon material consists of nanosize-graphene sheets (~ 1.2 nm) with high densities of –SO3H (1.5 mmol g-1) and phenolic OH groups (5.4 mmol g-1) in addition to -COOH. The acid catalysis of the carbon material was demonstrated through the esterification of acetic acid with ethanol and the hydrolysis of cellobiose. The catalytic activity of carbon-based solid acid was comparable to those of conventional SO3H-containing solid acid (Nafion and Amberlyst-15). Carbon-based solid acid could be readily recovered by decantation or filtration, and reused after simple water-washing treatment without decrease in activity. In the case of the hydrolysis of β-1,4-glucan of cellobiose, the carbon material exhibited much higher catalytic performance than the tested conventional solid acid catalysts: the yield of D-glucose by using the carbon material exceeded five times those of Nafion and Amberlyst-15. Such high catalytic activity of the carbon material can be attributed to the effect of graphene sheets in the carbon material, which bear OH and COOH in addition to SO3H.

 

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Presentation: Oral at E-MRS Fall Meeting 2008, Symposium D, by Satoshi Suganuma
See On-line Journal of E-MRS Fall Meeting 2008

Submitted: 2008-05-12 07:49
Revised:   2009-06-07 00:48