Low-Temperature Catalytic Pyrolysis of Cellulose in Acidic [Bmim]Otf: A Mechanism Model of Product Evolution

In this paper, we studied the catalytic pyrolysis behavior of microcrystalline cellulose (MC) in catalytic systems with acidic [Bmim]OTf as the media at temperatures of 140°C, 180°C, 220°C, 260°C, and 300°C. The pyrolysis behavior was investigated via SEM, XRD, FTIR, and GC-MS. During the catalysis of [Bmim]OTf, the pyrolysis temperature of MC was reduced to 140°C significantly and the crystalline structure of MC was destroyed rapidly. The novel synergistic catalytic effect of CF 3 SO 3 - and [Bmim] + was discovered, which may lead to MC-selective cleavage of glycosidic, C-C, C-O, and C-H bonds, accompanied by new bond formation, which showed the production of many small molecular compounds. Furthermore, a novel mechanism model of evolution in [Bmim]OTf at low temperature was developed from a microscopic point of view. This research had obvious significance for the mechanism of directional regulation of target products, finally realizing the high efficiency utilization of biomass.