Liquefaction mechanism of cellulose in the presence of phenol under acid catalysis

Cellobiose was used as a model compound to study the liquefaction mechanism of cellulose in the presence of phenol under acid catalysis. The reaction products of cellobiose were analyzed and isolated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). About 17 dominant compounds were identified based on NMR, GC-MS and Mass analyses. Based on the structures and reaction behavior of the main products, a liquefaction pathway of cellulose was proposed (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.