Sodium silicate was prepared from rice husk ash (RHA), which then functionalized with 3-(chloropropyl)triethoxysilane via simple solgel technique to form RHACCl. The chloro group in RHACCl was replaced in iodo group to form RHACI. Thiourea was immobilized on RHACI to synthesize nanoheterogeneous catalyst labeled as RHATU-SO4H. The FT-IR analysis clearly indicated the presence of primary amine -NH2 and C-N absorption band. BET surface area measurement also showed that the surface area is 357 m 2 /g of catalyst with pore size distribution (2-20 nm) which falls within the mesoporous region. The elemental analysis has also proved the existence of nitrogen and sulfur in the structure of the catalyst. Upon application of RHATU-SO4H as a catalyst, the degradation of cellulose to glucose yields 81 % at 140 °C for 16 h. The synthesized catalyst is easy to synthesize, highly stable throughout hydrolysis of cellulose as well as reusability without loss of catalyst activity.Keywords: Rice husk ash, Thiourea, Hydrolysis of cellulose, Glucose.Asian Journal of Chemistry; Vol. 30, No. 5 (2018), 937-943 acid and ionic liquid [10]. Microorganism in nature is wellknown in the oroduction of soluble sugar, primarily cellobiose and glucose [11].
EXPERIMENTALSodium hydroxide (BHD, England 99%), nitric acid (CDH, India 70 %), 3-chloropropyltriethoxysilane (Sigma, Garmin 99 %), thiourea (Sigma, Germany 99%), toluene (GCC, England 98 %), DMSO (GCC, England 97 %), triethylamine (CDH, India 98 %), ethanol absolute (99 %), methanol (99 %), DMF (LOBA, Cheme 99.8%). All the chemicals used were of AR grade or a high purity and used directly without further purification.Extraction and modification of silica from RHA Source of silica: The RHA was chosen as an amorphous silica source, it is available in the profusion. The silica was extracted from rice husk as described in the literature [12,13].Functionalization of RHA with CPTES: According to the procedure described in the reference [14], 3 g of RHA was placed in 200 mL of 2 M NaOH in a plastic container at 75 °C for 60 min. The produced sodium silicate was filtered to get rid of the undissolived particles. A 6.0 mL solution of CPTES was added to the prepared sodium silicate solution. This solution was added dropwise (1.0 mL/min) to 3.0 M of nitric acid with constant stirred. The difference in pH was observed by using pH meter. A white gel started to form when