Sulfonic acid-functionalized ionic liquid catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulose under microwave irradiation

Hydrolysis of cellulose in room temperature ionic liquids was carried out under microwave irradiation(MW) with sulfonic acid-functionalized ionic liquids(SFILs) as catalysts.The effect of dimethyl sulfoxide loading,water loading and catalyst amount were investigated.The result showed that hydrolysis of cellulose in 1-ally-3-methylimidazolium chloride was better than in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride.Dimethyl sulfoxide was able to sharply reduce the viscosity and increase the total reducing sugar yield.The catalytic activity of the SFILs was showed to be relevant to their acidity.And the optimal reaction conditions were as follows: amount of SFILs 0.05 g;water 0.04 g;DMSO 0.6 g;microwave power 640 W and irradiation time 60 s.MW seemed greatly enhanced the cellulose hydrolysis.