Carbon-based solid acids were prepared by using different biomass carbon sources. The effect of the carbonization temperature

sulfonation condition and type of biomass on the acid amount

surface structure and catalytic activity of the hydrolysis of cellulose were studied. The results indicated that the acid amount of the carbon-based solid acid obtained depended mainly on the carbonization temperature or essentially the carbonization degree of the biomass. The structural information of these solid acids were investigated by using XRD

BET

FT-IR and SEM. Under the same carbonization and sulfonation condition

the carbon-based solid acids prepared by using different biomasses gave a very similar acid amount but a quite different microstructure

leading to an obvious difference in the catalytic activity. The carbon-based solid acid produced from bamboo powder (BBC-SO3H) showed a better catalytic activity in the hydrolysis of cellulose than the acids from other studied biomasses. After carbonizing bamboos at 400℃ for 3 h and then sulfonating the carbonized bamboos at 180℃ for 8 h

the resulting solid acid gave a total acid amount of 5.34 mmol·g-1 and a sulfonic acid amount of 1.25 mmol·g-1

respectively.