Pyrolysis of modern biomass is a sustainable technique to produce chemicals, yet efficient and selective conversion remains challenging. We studied biomass pyrolysis catalyzed by graphene oxide for the production of levoglucosan, a chemical with potential applications in biodegradable plastics and surfactants. We tested model compounds containing 40–100 wt% cellulose, poplar biomass, and we modelled the role of graphene oxide by calculations using the density functional theory. Results for model compounds show that levoglucosan production is higher for compounds containing less than 50% cellulose. By contrast, levoglucosan yield are reduced for model compounds having more than 60 wt% cellulose, because graphene oxide induced the breakdown of levoglucosan. Experiments show that pyrolysis of poplar biomass with 5 wt% graphene oxide increased about three times the yield of levoglucosan, compared to non-catalyzed pyrolysis. Enhanced levoglucosan formation is explained by the formation of a six-membered ring intermediate.

现代生物质热解是一种可持续的化学品生产技术，但高效和选择性的转化仍然具有挑战性。我们研究了氧化石墨烯催化的生物质热解来生​​产左旋葡聚糖，这是一种在可生物降解塑料和表面活性剂方面具有潜在应用的化学品。我们测试了含有 40-100 wt% 纤维素、杨树生物质的模型化合物，并通过使用密度泛函理论进行计算来模拟氧化石墨烯的作用。模型化合物的结果表明，纤维素含量低于 50% 的化合物的左旋葡聚糖产量较高。相比之下，对于纤维素含量超过 60 wt% 的模型化合物，左旋葡聚糖产量会降低，因为氧化石墨烯会诱导左旋葡聚糖的分解。实验表明，与非催化热解相比，使用 5 wt% 氧化石墨烯热解杨树生物质，左旋葡聚糖的产量增加了约三倍。左旋葡聚糖形成的增强可以通过六元环中间体的形成来解释。