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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