Mechanocatalytic depolymerization of cellulose combined with hydrogenolysis as a highly efficient pathway to sugar alcohols

Cellulose is both insoluble in water and resistant against hydrolysis. These features pose major problems for its conversion into platform chemicals. Herein, we demonstrate that mechanocatalytic, solid-state depolymerization combined with hydrogenolysis, in the presence of Ru/C in water, provides a highly efficient pathway for the production of sugar alcohols. This novel approach leads to yields of hexitols up to 94% at 150 degrees C in an overall process time of 4 h.