High efficiency of superacid HFSbF5 for the selective decrystallizationdepolymerization of cellulose to glucoseElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Details of any supplementary information available should be included here. See DOI: 10.1039/c2ob07143f

Herein, we show that after polyprotonation, superacid HFSbF 5 is able to selectively depolymerise cellulose to water-soluble carbohydrates with 68 wt% yield of glucose. This process is efficient at low temperature, thus avoiding the formation of side products as commonly observed with conventional acids. Superacid HFSbF 5 can selectively depolymerise cellulose to glucose via a polyprotonation mechanism without fluorination reaction or glucose decomposition.