Waste newspaper is one of the most common cellulosic materials.

In comparison with templates of zeolites and silica, a template of nano-magnesium oxide (nano-MgO) has some unique advantages. Namely, it is easily removed by dilute noncorrosive acid solution, is recyclable for nano-MgO precursors, and has tunable pore size by selecting various nano-MgO precursors. In this study, the nano-MgO as a hard template synthesis of lignin carbon-based solid acids catalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). After using nano-MgO as a hard template, the resulting nano-MgO mesoporous carbon-based solid acids (MLCSAs) presented a uniform porous morphology and the smooth surface became rough. When the carbonization temperature was 400°C, the catalytic activity of MLCSAs for the hydrolytic reaction of cellulose was greater than lignin carbon-based solid acids (LCSAs) without nano-MgO as a hard template.