Simultaneous FeO Nanoparticle Formation and Catalyst-Driven Hydrothermal Cellulose Degradation.

Breakdown and utilization of cellulose are critical for the bioenergy sector; however, current cellulose-to-energy conversion schemes often consume large quantities of unrecoverable chemicals, or are expensive, due to the need for enzymes or high temperatures. In this paper, we demonstrate a new method for converting cellulose into soluble compounds using a mixture of Fe and Fe as catalytic centers for the breakdown, yielding FeO nanoparticles during the hydrothermal process. Iron precursors transformed more than 61% of microcrystalline cellulose into solutes, with the composition of the solute changing with the initial Fe concentration.