Advances in External Field-Assisted Green Catalytic Valorization of Biomass-derived Glucose into Value-added Chemicals

Amid the global energy crisis and greenhouse gas emissions from fossil resources, biomass-derived glucose, a critical platform molecule, holds great potential for producing high-value chemicals. However, conventional thermocatalysis is limited by its harsh conditions and low selectivity. External field-assisted technologies (microwave, light, ultrasound, and electric fields) address these drawbacks through shared core mechanisms. They input energy or induce physicochemical effects to regulate reaction microenvironments, activate catalytic active sites, and modulate glucose molecular behavior—enhancing mass transfer efficiency, promoting the generation of active species ( e.g. , radicals and electron-hole pairs), and suppressing side reactions. Microwave fields provide rapid volumetric dielectric heating and can create localized hotspots to intensify the kinetics. Light fields drive photoredox chemistry by generating electron-hole pairs (and derived ROS), enabling selective redox transformations under mild conditions. Ultrasound fields trigger cavitation, which enhances mixing/mass transfer and forms radicals in situ to accelerate key steps. Electric fields enable potential-controlled interfacial electron transfer on electrodes, offering programmable selectivity and facile coupling with H 2 evolution. These technologies enable the mild, efficient, and selective conversion of glucose into high-value products (5-HMF, gluconic acid, lactic acid, and H 2 ) with improved atom economy. However, further exploration of their intrinsic interaction mechanisms with reactants/catalysts and the optimization of industrial adaptability are essential to advance green biomass valorization.