A novel route for green conversion of cellulose to HMF by cascading enzymatic and chemical reactions

In this work, a novel route to deconstruct cellulose into 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) by cascading enzymatic and chemical reactions is reported. For biocatalyst preparation, Fe3O4 nanoparticles encapsulated SBA‐15 with appropriate pore size was synthesized and utilized as magnetic scaffolds for the immobilization of cellulase. For chemical catalyst preparation, sulfated zirconium dioxide conformed monolayers were grafted on SBA‐15 template to create thermally robust mesoporous catalysts with tunable solid basic/Lewis acid and Brønsted acid sites. Catalytic performance of biocatalyst and chemical catalyst was explored in the aqueous phase conversion of IL pretreated cellulose to glucose, and in the iPrOH/water solvent conversion of glucose to HMF conversion, respectively. After the optimization of reaction conditions, a sequential conversion of pretreated cellulose to glucose and glucose to HMF was performed, and 43.6% HMF yield can be obtained. The cascaded enzymatic and chemocatalytic reaction system demonstrates an effective and economically friendly process for biomass energy conservation. A novel route for green conversion of IL pretreated cellulose to 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) by cascading an enzymatic catalysis in an aqueous system with chemocatalysis in an iPrOH/water solvent mixture is reported.