ZnO as a simple and facile catalyst for acid-base coordination transformation of biomass-based monosaccharides into lactic acid

•The coexistence of Lewis acid and base sites in ZnO could effectively catalyze the lactic acid production from glucose.•ZnO catalyst exhibits excellent durability without deactivation after 5 recycle runs.•This system is also applicable for various feedstock including monosaccharides and disaccharides.