Abstract
Overcoming the natural recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass is necessary in
order to efficiently convert biomass into biofuels or biomaterials and many
times this requires some type of chemical pretreatment and/or biological treatment.
While bulk chemical analysis is the traditional method of determining
the impact a treatment has on biomass, the chemistry on the surface of the
sample can differ from the bulk chemistry. Specifically, enzymes and microorganisms
bind to the surface of the biomass and their efficiency could be greatly
impacted by the chemistry of the surface. Therefore, it is important to study
and understand the chemistry of the biomass at the surface. Time-of-
flight
secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS)
is a powerful tool that can spectrally
and spatially analyze the surface chemistry of a sample. This review discusses
the advances in understanding lignocellulosic biomass surface chemistry
using the ToF-SIMS
by addressing the instrument parameters, biomass sample
preparation, and characteristic lignocellulosic ion fragmentation peaks along with
their typical location in the plant cell wall. The use of the ToF-SIMS
in detecting
chemical changes due to chemical pretreatments, microbial treatments, and
physical or genetic modifications is discussed along with possible future applications
of the instrument in lignocellulosic biomass studies.