Sijia Dong

Sponsor: NSF

Collaborative Research: Enzyme-Mimicking Catalysts for Cellulose Processing

Lignocellulosic biomass from plants is a renewable, carbon-neutral material produced at a scale of 170-200 billion tons per year. The depolymerization of cellulose is a key step in biomass conversion, but it is challenged by the stability and crystalline nature of the cellulose fibers. We will develop synthetic catalysts based on molecularly imprinted nanoparticles that mimic endocellulase, exocellulase, and beta-glucosidase for the efficient hydrolysis of cellulose.