Catalytic hydrothermal conversion of carboxymethyl cellulose to value-added chemicals over metal-organic framework MIL-53(Al)

Catalytic hydrolysis of biomass over solid catalysts can be one of the most efficient pathways for a future sustainable society dependent on cellulose biomass. In this work metal-organic framework MIL-53(Al) without any functionalization was directly employed as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the hydrolysis of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to 5-hydroxymethyl-furaldehyde (5-HMF) in aqueous phase. A 5-HMF molar yield of 40.3% and total reducing sugar (TRS) molar yield of 54.2% were obtained with water as single solvent at 473 K for 4 h. The catalyst could be reused three times without losing activity to a greater extent. With the remarkable advantages such as the use of water as single solvent and MIL-53(Al) as a novel heterogeneous green catalyst, the work provides a new platform for the production of value added chemicals and liquid fuels from biomass.