Design Strategies and Recent Advances in Cellulase-Mimetic Solid Acid Catalysts
The dense crystalline structure and limited accessibility of cellulose severely hinder its efficient catalytic conversion. In response, biomimetic solid acid catalysts inspired by cellulase binding domains (CBDs) have emerged as a promising strategy to enhance cellulose hydrolysis by mimicking the substrate recognition and enrichment functions of natural enzymes. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in the design of CBD-mimetic solid acids based on four representative strategies: electrostatic anchoring, hydrophobic microenvironment engineering, spatial confinement, and covalent lock-and-key mechanisms. The underlying principles of these approaches, including substrate-specific recognition, local concentration enhancement, and synergistic “adsorption-catalysis” effects, are critically discussed to elucidate their contributions in improving catalytic affinity, selectivity, and durability. Despite significant progress, challenges such as mass-transfer resistance and insufficient structural robustness remain in complex biomass conversion systems. Looking forward, the integration of sub-enzymatic materials, such as carbon quantum dots (CQDs), into biomimetic catalysts offers new opportunities to achieve efficient, recyclable, and hierarchically organized catalytic systems, thereby providing a powerful route for the sustainable valorization of cellulose and other lignocellulosic resources.