Highly efficient synthesis of biodiesel catalyzed by a cellulose@hematite-zirconia nanocomposite.

The depletion of fossil fuels calls for the development of renewable alternatives such as biodiesel and has inspired much research on catalysts for the production of biodiesel through the esterification of biomass-derived materials. Herein, a green heterogeneous catalyst for highly efficient biodiesel synthesis was fabricated from rice straw-derived cellulose, hematite, and zirconia and was shown to contain porous irregularly shaped α-FeO-ZrO composites (average particle size = 42.5 nm) evenly distributed on the nanocellulose surface.