Selective conversion of biomass catalyzed by ionic liquids

Biomass is an important carbon-contained renewable resource on the earth and is regarded as an excellent alternative of fossil resources. However, applications of biomass are greatly limited, in particular, by its poor solubility in water and conventional organic solvents, due to the complex intermolecular and intramolecular linkages in biomass components. To overcome this problem, ionic liquid, as a kind of green solvents and catalysts, is favored in the dissolution and conversion of biomass, showing excellent performance. In this contribution, we reviewed the recent progress of our groups’ representative research achievements in this field and discussed the future challenges and possible solutions for ionic liquids-induced efficiently catalytic biomass conversion.