Aromatic Monomers by in Situ Conversion of Reactive Intermediates in the Acid-Catalyzed Depolymerization of Lignin

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jacs.5b03693

Conversion of lignin into well-defined aromatic chemicals is a highly attractive goal but is often hampered by recondensation of the formed fragments, especially in acidolysis. Here, we describe new strategies that markedly suppress such undesired pathways to result in diverse aromatic compounds previously not systematically targeted from lignin. Model studies established that a catalytic amount of triflic acid is very effective in cleaving the β-O-4 linkage, most abundant in lignin. An aldehyde product was identified as the main cause of side reactions under cleavage conditions. Capturing this unstable compound by reaction with diols and by in situ catalytic hydrogenation or decarbonylation lead to three distinct groups of aromatic compounds in high yields acetals, ethanol and ethyl aromatics, and methyl aromatics. Notably, the same product groups were obtained when these approaches were successfully extended to lignin. In addition, the formation of higher molecular weight side products was markedly suppressed, indicating that the aldehyde intermediates play a significant role in these processes. The described strategy has the potential to be generally applicable for the production of interesting aromatic compounds from lignin.

Full text of DOI:10.1021/jacs.5b03693

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Article
Aromatic monomers by in situ conversion of reactive
intermediates in the acid-catalyzed depolymerization of lignin
Peter J. Deuss, Martin Scott, Fanny Tran, Nicholas J. Westwood, Johannes G. de Vries, and Katalin Barta
J. Am. Chem. Soc., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b03693 • Publication Date (Web): 22 May 2015
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Aromatic monomers by in situ conversion of reactive inter-
mediates in the acid-catalyzed depolymerization of lignin
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Peter J. Deuss,† Martin Scott,† Fanny Tran,‡ Nicholas J. Westwood,‡ Johannes G. de Vries*,†,҂ and
Katalin Barta*,†
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† Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands, E-
mail: k.barta@rug.nl
‡ School of Chemistry and Biomedical Science Research Complex, University of St. Andrews and EaStCHEM, North
Haugh, St. Andrews, Fife, KY16 9ST, United Kingdom
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҂ Leibniz-Insitut für Katalyse e.V. an der Universität Rostock Albert-Einstein-Straße 29a, 18059 Rostock, Germany, E-
mail: johannes.devries@catalysis.de
ABSTRACT: Conversion of lignin into well-defined aromatic chemicals is a highly attractive goal, but is often hampered
by recondensation of the formed fragments, especially in acidolysis. Here, we describe new strategies that markedly sup-
press such undesired pathways to result in diverse aromatic compounds previously not systematically targeted from lig-
nin. Model studies established that a catalytic amount of triflic acid is very effective in cleaving the β-O-4 linkage, most
abundant in lignin. An aldehyde product was identified as the main cause of side reactions under cleavage conditions.
Capturing this unstable compound by reaction with diols and by in situ catalytic hydrogenation or decarbonylation lead
to three distinct groups of aromatic compounds in high yields: acetals, ethanol- and ethyl-aromatics and methyl aromat-
ics. Notably, the same product groups were obtained when these approaches were successfully extended to lignin. In
addition, the formation of higher molecular weight side products was markedly suppressed, indicating that the aldehyde
intermediates play a significant role in these processes. The described strategy has the potential to be generally applicable
for the production of interesting aromatic compounds from lignin..
weight side products should be minimized.5 A number of
INTRODUCTION
innovative approaches both in homogeneous6 as well as
heterogeneous7 catalysis exist, and have been summarized
Lignin is the richest source of renewable aromatic com-
in recent reviews.2a,3c,4,8 Methods in homogeneous cataly-
pounds on the planet and harbors great potential for the
production of industrially relevant aromatic bulk and fine
chemicals.1 However, the efficient catalytic conversion of
lignin to well-defined aromatics still represents a key
challenge due to the robust and amorphous structure of
this highly oxygenated biopolymer.1,2 The development of
new approaches is very important, as these will play a
crucial role in the implementation of lignocellulose as a
renewable alternative to fossil carbon resources.1,2a,3 In
particular, methods that enable efficient depolymerisa-
tion and subsequent defunctionalisation of the formed
fragments are desired.1a,2a,4 At the same time, competing
recondensation reactions that lead to higher molecular
sis are generally limited to selective bond cleavage in
model compounds, although some protocols have been
tested on lignin.9 Approaches using higher temperatures
often suffer from low product selectivity due to overre-
duction of the aromatic rings or formation of bio-
char.1a,2a,8a,8b Recently, breakthroughs were achieved in the
mild depolymerization of lignin. Mixtures of aromatic
compounds were obtained in high yield through a unique
approach developed by Stahl and coworkers.10 Further-
more single aromatic compounds were isolated upon
catalytic depolymerization of lignin under low severity
conditions.11 Here we present a new concept that affords
Figure 1. Major identified cleavage pathways and products from lignin β-O-4 linkage acidolysis indicating C2- and C3-fragments.
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Figure 2. Overview of the work presented in this manuscript showing the C2-aldehydes targeted for stabilization.
three distinctly different classes of aromatic compounds
from lignin, relying on acidolysis.
and confirmed the involvement of the unstable C2-
aldehyde in recondensation processes. We anticipated
that immediate conversion of these unstable cleavage
products would not only significantly reduce side-
reactions, but also provide viable pathways towards de-
fined aromatic compounds derived from these C2-
fragments. Methods, shown in Figure 2 were found suita-
ble for this purpose.
Acidolysis is one of the most widely used methods for
the fractionation of lignocellulose into its main compo-
nents,1a,2,12 and will regain importance if the implementa-
tion of the biorefinery concept is to be financially viable.13
Historically, acid pulping was mainly used for isolation of
reduced molecular weight lignin fractions from the ligno-
cellulose matrix.14 Although distinct aromatic compounds
have been found upon acidolysis of lignin in early studies,
these were mainly used in the context of structural eluci-
dation, rather than in designing the depolymerization of
lignin into valuable aromatic monomers.15 In fact, pro-
longed treatment of lignin with mineral acids in aque-
ous/organic media typically leads to substantial amounts
of insoluble material and low monomer yields.14,16 Surpris-
ingly, the specific causes of these recondensation phe-
nomena, first observed decades ago,17 have remained
largely unanswered, despite extensive mechanistic studies
elucidating cleavage pathways.
Building on earlier reports,16,18 interesting recent mech-
anistic studies19 conducted with model compounds that
mirror the most abundant β-O-4 linkage in lignin have
established, that the phenyl-ether bond readily undergoes
acidolysis at temperatures up to 150 °C and that two main
cleavage pathways exist (Figure 1). Pathway A leads to C3-
fragments typically referred to as Hibbert ketones, while
Pathway B involves the loss of formaldehyde, leading to
C2-fragments.16,19b,c In model studies, up to 50% of the
products can correspond to cleavage via Pathway B.19a,d
Interestingly however, the monomeric products observed
after acidolysis of lignin, almost exclusively
During acid catalyzed depolymerization of lignin as
substrate, recondensation pathways21 of analogous C2-
aldehyde fragments could lead to the formation of higher
molecular weight polymers.2,14,22 However, with the meth-
odologies shown in Figure 2 we were able to show a sig-
nificant decrease in the formation of insoluble material
typically associated with lignin acidolysis and obtain dis-
tinct sets of aromatic products in agreement with the
model studies.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Model compound studies
Acid catalyzed cleavage of C2-β-O-4 model compounds:
Model compounds 1a-c that represent the β-O-4 lignin motif
after loss of the γ-carbon, were used to study Pathway B
involving the C2 fragment. We first established that catalytic
amounts of strong acid in non-protic solvents, including
those that can be derived from renewables (Scheme 1, Table
S1), are very effective in cleavage of 1a-c. In particular, triflic
acid in toluene led to complete conversion of 1a within se-
conds (Figures 3a and S1-S5) and the formation of guaiacol 3a
(>60%) as the only observable cleavage product. Interesting-
ly, the rate of cleavage in toluene, was orders of magnitude
consist of phenolic-C3-ketones (Hibbert
ketones).15c We noted, that the apparent
lack of C2-products upon acidolysis of lig-
nin likely indicates involvement of these
fragments in recondensation reactions.
Using model compounds we have revisit-
ed cleavage reactions related to Pathway
B19a,20 applying catalytic amounts of acid
Scheme 1. Triflic acid catalyzed cleavage of β-O-4 model compounds 1a-c.
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Figure 3. Reaction profiles for the cleavage of 1a-1c, showing a) all main products in toluene b) all main products in 1,4-dioxane c)
the aldehyde product (2a) only at various reaction conditions d) aldehyde products (2a-c) in reactions using substrates 1a-1c
greater than in water with excess sulfuric acid, reported
earlier (6.5 min-1 vs. 0.02 h-1).19a The reaction was slower in
1,4- dioxane (k = 2.8 h-1), but more selective, yielding up to
94% guaiacol (Figures 3b and S7). In this case, 2-
phenylacetaldehyde 2a was identified as a second, albeit
minor product (up to 30%). Good 1a conversion was main-
tained under milder reaction conditions, but this did not
improve 2a selectivity (Figures 3c and S8-S9 and Table S2).
side products resulting from aldol-condensation (Figures S12-
S13). Similar behavior was later observed (vide infra) in the
acid catalyzed depolymerization of lignin, where these frag-
ments lead to the formation of high molecular weight side
products. In order to prevent these undesired processes,
several new strategies were developed for the immediate
conversion of the unstable aldehydes using methods compat-
ible with the cleavage conditions.
Similar observations were made for model compounds 1b
and 1c, generally providing 1c>>1a>1b as an order of reactivi-
ty (Figures 3d, S7 and S10-S11). Thus, the rate of cleavage (80
h-1, 2.8 h-1, 1.1 h-1) was greatly enhanced for substrates con-
taining electron-donating methoxy-substituents. This is
important since the aromatic subunits in lignin contain simi-
lar moieties.23 Monitoring the formation of 3a-b and 2a-c
over time provided insight into the fate of these primary
cleavage products (Figures 3a-d and S1-11). While 3a and 3b
were stable (Figures 3a,b), aldehydes 2a and 2c were con-
sumed rapidly upon formation (Figures 3c,d), due to the
instability of 2a-c under cleavage conditions.24 Accordingly,
gas chromatography revealed complex reaction mixtures and
In-situ conversion of the aldehyde intermediates to
acetals: Acetal formation with diols was selected to provide
proof of principle for the aldehyde stabilization strategy
(Table S3). This reaction itself is acid catalyzed, and the diols,
used in stoichiometric amounts, can be derived from the
sugar fraction of lignocellulosic biomass25 or from glycerol,
which is the major side product of biodiesel production.26
Indeed, treatment of 1a-c with 1.5 eq of ethylene glycol and
triflic acid resulted in excellent yields of the corresponding
1,3-dioxolanes 4a-c (>90%, Scheme 2, Figure 4a,b). Clean
product mixtures were obtained (Figure S21) and a good
agreement between guaiacol (3a) and acetal (4a-c) yields
(Figures S14-S19) was observed accordingly. The effect of
Figure 4. Reaction profiles showing clear effect of 1.5 equivalent ethylene-glycol in the stabilization of reactive intermediates in the
cleavage of 1a or 1a-c a) Comparable 3a and 4a yields b) High yields of acetal products (4a and 4c).
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The procedure was generally applicable
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with a range of diols. Addition of 1,3-
propanediol and 1,2-butanediol provided
the corresponding 1,3-dioxolane and 1,3-
dioxane acetals (5a-6a) in excellent
yields, 6a being a mixture of diastere-
omers (Scheme 3). To our surprise, reac-
tions with 1.5 equivalents glycerol also
resulted in clean mixtures of acetals
without side reactions involving glycerol
dehydration. A rate very similar to the
Scheme 2. In situ acetal formation with ethylene glycol upon triflic acid cata-
lyzed cleavage of lignin β-O-4 model compounds 1a-c.
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ethylene glycol on the selectivity was clearly demonstrated
using labelled substrate 13C-1a. Full 13C-1a conversion and
clean formation of 13C-4a was seen after 2 hours (Figure 5a).
However, in the absence of ethylene glycol only using HOTf
at 140oC, aldol condensation products (13C-ald-2a) of the
formed aldehyde 13C-2a were observed (Figure 5b) even at
low conversion (Figure 5c).
reaction using ethylene glycol (1.4 h-1 to 1.6 h-1) was observed
(Figure S19). A near-equimolar mixture of the kinetically
favored 7aa and thermodynamically favored 7ab was ob-
tained, each being a mixture of two diastereomers.27 The two
distinct 7ab diastereomers were isolated as single com-
pounds using preparative HPLC while 7aa was isolated as a
mixture. All four isomers were fully characterized by a com-
bination of 1D and 2D-NMR methods (SI section 3.5). Inter-
estingly, it has been shown that glycerol acetals are flavoring
Substrates 1a-c showed a reactivity trend similar to that
observed for the cleavage reactions depicted in Figure 4,
albeit with slightly lower reaction rates (e.g. 2.8 h-1 to 1.6 h-1
for 1a). Notably, only 1 mol% HOTf and 120ºC were sufficient
to achieve full conversion of the more labile 1c within
minutes (Figure 4).
agents28 and 7aa and 7ab are components of hyacinth fra-
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grances.
These products contain two different types of
hydroxyl functionalities, and may also find potential applica-
tion as useful bio-derived polymer building blocks.
Figure 5. Comparison of 13C-NMR spectra of the crude reaction mixtures upon triflic acid catalyzed cleavage of 13C labelled
lignin β-O-4 model compound 13C-1a (* = 13C) a) in the presence of ethylene glycol (EG), b) without ethylene glycol and c) at
incomplete conversion.
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Scheme 3. High yield, in-situ acetal formation with different diols upon triflic acid catalyzed cleavage of lignin β-O-4
model compound 1a. a 1 : 1 mixture of diastereomers b near equimolar mixture of regioisomers 7aa and 7ab each being a
mixture of diastereomers.
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Scheme 4. In situ acetal formation with ethylene glycol upon triflic acid catalyzed cleavage of more complex lignin mod-
el compounds 8 and 9.
Cleavage of C3-β-O-4 lignin model compounds 8 and 9 (as
diastereomeric mixtures as in lignin29) in the presence of
ethylene glycol provided guaiacol (3a) and the corresponding
1,3-dioxolane acetals (Scheme 4). The good, 44% and 35%
yields of 4a and 10 respectively correspond well to Pathway B
occurring about 50% of the time giving a C2-fragment.19a,b
Ketals related to the C3-Hibbert ketones formed via Pathway
A were also observed (although were not isolate in pure
form). The reactivity trend was similar to that observed for
1a-c, showing full conversion of 9 within minutes and slower
cleavage of 8 (Figure S20).
the rates of aldehyde recondensation. In-situ hydrogenation
with Ru (5 wt%) on carbon, in conjunction with catalytic
amounts of HOTf was successfully carried out leading to a
range of interesting products depending on reaction condi-
tions (Scheme 5). First, the Ru:HOTf ratio was varied to
optimize for the highest yield of aromatic products 3a and 11
(Scheme 5a, Table S4). This balance is delicate as too much
Ru/C led to significant hydrogenation of the early intermedi-
ate 1416,19 to form 14h that was resistant towards further
cleavage.30 Up to 77% of 2-phenylethanol 11 was obtained at
130 °C (Figure 6). The formation of ethyl-benzene 12 (62%)
was favored at 160 °C, with the corresponding ring hydro-
genation product 12h (21%) also detected. At prolonged reac-
tion times, a mixture of fully hydrogenated products contain-
In situ catalytic hydrogenation: Metal catalyzed ap-
proaches were also adapted for aldehyde stabilization to
provide desirable simpler aromatics. Key requirements were
compatibility with the cleavage conditions and surpassing
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ing 55% 2-cyclohexylethanol 11h and 23% ethylcyclohexane
12h (Scheme 5b) was obtained.
and 2 mol% triflic acid (Scheme 6 and Figure 7). These mild-
er reaction conditions were ideal as the slow decarbonylation
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Figure 6. Tunable formation of products 11 and 12(h) upon triflic acid catalyzed cleavage of β-O-4 model compound 1a at varia-
ble reaction temperatures (Table S4 and conditions shown in Scheme 5).
Scheme 5. Catalytic in situ hydrogenation upon triflic acid catalyzed cleavage of lignin β-O-4 model compound 1a to give
aromatic products or cyclic aliphatic products.
In situ catalytic decarbonylation: Catalytic decarbonyla-
tion was selected as a defunctionalization strategy unique to
the aldehyde to obtain methyl-aromatics, previously not
systematically targeted from lignin. Decarbonylation of aro-
matic aldehydes has previously been reported using iridium
and phosphine ligands in refluxing 1,4-dioxane.31 Compatibil-
ity with the strongly acidic media was first established
through extensive screening, using β-O-4 model compound
1a. Toluene 13a was obtained in 73% yield at 120 °C using 1a
required slow release of 2a. A phosphine to iridium ratio of
>1.5 was detrimental not only to the decarbonylation,31 but
also inhibited the cleavage reaction itself (Table S5). Using
more labile 1c as substrate (Table S6) 4-methylanisole 13c
was obtained in 76% yield with triflic acid loading as low as
0.5 mol%.
Aromatics from walnut dioxosolv lignin
The new catalytic methods relying on
the in-situ conversion of reactive in-
termediates during acidolysis devel-
oped for model compounds were suc-
cessfully translated to lignin. Protocols
suitable for assessing the result of
catalytic treatment were developed,
and analysis was carried out by a com-
bination of various methods.
Scheme 6. Catalytic in situ decarbonylation upon triflic acid catalyzed cleavage
of β-O-4 model compounds 1a and 1c to give toluene 13a and 4-methylanisole
13c.
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ed procedures.6l,11b Relative quantification of the main linkag-
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es provided a β-O-4 : β-5 : β-β ratio of 0.45 : 0.36 : 0.19. The
β-O-4 to monomer ratio was 1 : 3.14 (Figures 8 and S24).
These values correspond to a relatively condensed lignin
structure, which is likely the result of the extraction condi-
tions. Based on these values, the theoretical maximum mon-
omer yield from this lignin was estimated to be 10 wt% as-
suming that only the β-O-4 linkages are cleaved and mono-
meric products are only obtained when two β-O-4 linkages
flank a monomer.11b Additionally, the 2D-HSQC-NMR re-
vealed a H (p-hydoxyphenyl) : G (guaiacyl) : S (syringyl)
subunit ratio of 0.29 : 0.42 : 0.29, which corresponded well to
the H : G : S ratios of product mixtures obtained after catalyt-
ic treatment (vide infra).
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Methods for lignin depolymerization and fractionation
of products: The three novel strategies for in situ conversion
of reactive intermediates were applied to organosolv walnut
lignin and reaction conditions are summarized in Figure 9. A
low acid loading (2 wt%) was adopted in all runs to accom-
modate the increased lability of the β-O-4 linkages in lignin
compared to model compounds, due to the higher degree of
methoxy-substitution. In situ acetal formation (Method B)
was performed at 140 °C for 4 hours. Catalytic hydrogenation
(Method D) and decarbonylation (Method E) were carried
out at 120 °C for 24 hours. Corresponding control reactions
(Method A and C) were carried out with only triflic acid.
Figure 7. Catalytic decarbonylation of 2a formed upon triflic
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acid catalyzed cleavage of 1a to obtain toluene 13a. Reaction
conditions: 5 mol% [IrCl(cod)]2, 10 mol% PPh3, 120 °C in 1,4-
dioxane (Table S5).
Isolation and characterization of walnut dioxosolv lig-
nin: Dioxosolv lignin was isolated from walnut shells via
established organosolv procedures.32 A molecular weight
average typical for organosolv lignins (Mn = 1290 g mol-1,
Mw = 1680 g mol-1 and d = 1.3) was confirmed by GPC analysis
(Figure S23). The relative ratios of the main linkages were
determined by 2D-HSQC-NMR techniques following report-
The two main aspects of the product analysis focused on
determining the amounts of insoluble material generated by
recondensation reactions and the types and quantities of
aromatic monomers formed. To this end, a suitable fraction-
Figure 8. Assignment and quantification of linkages and monomeric units of walnut dioxosolv lignin by 2D-HSQC NMR (DMSO-d6).
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Figure 9. Reaction conditions for depolymerization of dioxosolv walnut lignin using methodologies A-E (left). Scheme represent-
ing the workup procedure to obtain Fractions 1-3. (right)
Figure 10. Dry-weight analysis of the different fractions obtained from lignin depolymerization experiments (Tables S7-S8). The
values are derived from masses of crude fractions determined by weighing the solid residues upon solvent evaporation and
drying.
ation procedure was developed to separate products belong-
ing to different molecular weight ranges (Fractions 1-3, Fig-
ure 9). While Fraction 1 represented the dark brown insolu-
ble material directly related to recondensation reactions,
Fraction 3 contained the desired low molecular weight prod-
ucts. Fraction 2 comprised of higher Mw, dioxane soluble
material (For details of GPC analyses see Figures S27-S28).
10, allowed us to compare methods A-E and validated our
approach for the stabilization of reactive intermediates dur-
ing acidolysis. Ideally, a product mixture consists entirely of
Fraction 3, and the amount of Fraction 1 is minimal. The
control reactions (Method A and C) using only acid con-
tained significant amounts of insoluble material (Fraction 1),
as expected (44% and 64% respectively). This amount was
markedly reduced to 9% for acetal formation (Method B) and
4% under hydrogenation conditions (Method D). A decrease
Suppressing recondensation phenomena: The dry weight
Table 1. Distribution of monomeric and dimeric products in Fraction 3 for Methods A-E determined by GC-FID analysis.
Products in Fractions 3b
Methoda
Total
5.4 mg
9.1 mg
5.7 mg
16.2 mg
3 mg
Monomers
2.0 mg
6.4 mg
1.3 mg
Dimer (+ higher)
3.4 mg
A (Control)
B (Acetal formation)
C (Control)
2.7 mg
4.4 mg
D (Hydrogenation)
E (Decarbonylation)
6.8 mg
2.0 mg
9.4 mg
1.0 mg
a For reaction conditions related to these methods see Figure 9 and SI, section 4.3.
b Values obtained by integration of GC-FID traces, using n-octadecane as internal standard. The amounts refer to products de-
rived from 100 mg starting lignin. Note that this quantification only includes products of lignin origin, quantifiable by GC-FID
and GC-MS. For more information on details of quantification see SI section 4.4.
analysis of the different fractions (1-3), summarized in Figure
from 64% to 34% was seen under decarbonylation conditions
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(Method E). The expected significant increase in the weights
established methods6l,11b for the applied lignin source (vide
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
of the corresponding low molecular weight fractions was
observed accordingly especially for Methods B and D. In
these cases, Fraction 3 made up 27% and 37% of the product
mixtures. Dioxane-solubles (Fraction 2) were the largest
fraction of the samples obtained upon stabilization strategies
(Methods B, D, E) while in the corresponding control reac-
tions (Methods A and C) clearly the solids (Fraction 1) were
the major products (for more details regarding the fractiona-
tion procedures see SI section 4.4.1).
supra, See also SI section 4.2), adjusted according to method
used (for the calculation of monomer yields see Page S36-37).
Thus the applied methodologies, especially acetal formation
and hydrogenation, have the potential to deliver monomer
yields close to theoretically expected values. The obtained
yields are in agreement with other recently developed, mild
β-O-4 cleavage methodologies.9,33 Other methods are also
known, especially those using special lignin sources,10,11a or
higher temperatures5,34 that afford higher monomer yields.
We expect that the strategies described in this paper will be
generally applicable to a broader range of lignins with suffi-
cient β-O-4 content. Especially CEL lignins 10a with high β-O-
4 content should lead to increased monomer yields.
9
Monomer yields: In-depth analysis was performed for all
Fraction 3 samples, obtained in Methods A-E using GC-FID
and GC-MS (Figures S26-S30). For details of the analysis see
SI sections 4.4.2-4.4.5. Products from lignin depolymeriza-
tion consisted of mainly aromatic monomers, dimers and a
few low Mw oligomers. The results of quantification are
presented in Table 1 and Figure 11. Methods B and D clearly
delivered more monomer yields than the corresponding
control reactions (6.4 and 6.8 mg respectively). In addition,
the total low molecular weight products were 9.1 (Method B)
and 16.2 mg (Method D). These results represent 60% and
80% of the theoretical maximum monomer yields for meth-
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Distinct classes of aromatic monomers from lignin: One
of the most crucial questions was whether the different
Methods A-E would deliver the types of monomers, deter-
mined by model studies. The products were identified to a
large extent (>90%) by GC-MS (all details in Tables S10-S14).
The corresponding product mixtures were analyzed accord-
ing to several key descriptors, which are summarized in
Figure 11. These analyses showed excellent agreement be-
Figure 11. GC(FID/MS) analysis of Fraction 3 obtained in the different methodologies A-E showing a) distribution of alkyl chain
lengths (C0-C3) within the product mixtures, as well as H : G : S ratios b) major products in Fraction 3, corresponding to the
stabilization strategies (Methods B, D and E, percentages are based on the total weight of lignin monomeric products identified
by GC-MS).
ods B and D respectively, calculated based on previously
tween the lignin and the model studies considering products
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formed via C2 pathways. It should also be noted, that prod-
corresponding product mixture showed agreement with the
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
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Figure 12. GC-FID trace of a typical crude product mixture from depolymerization of walnut dioxosolv lignin using Method B.
Identification based on GC-MS data of major peaks is shown (full peak overview in Table S11). aIsolated from an upscaled reaction
using 2 g beech organosolv lignin. (see SI Section 5.)
ucts derived from lignin also included compounds formed
through C3 pathways, as expected.
used methodology (Figure S33). C1-phenolics (35%) arise
from decarbonylation of the C2-aldehyde intermediate. The
C0-phenolics (15%, phenol, guaiacol and syringol) are likely
products of decarbonylation of the corresponding C1-vanillin
type aldehydes that are known products during acid cata-
lyzed lignin depolymerization. These results indicate, that
decarbonylation is a promising strategy to access C1 aromat-
ics from lignin, and future research should focus on the de-
velopment of more active decarbonylation catalysts.
This finding, together with the marked reduction of high
molecular weight solids (Fraction 1) and the GC-MS and 13C
NMR studies using model compounds, indicates a central
role of these unstable C2-aldehyde fragments in recondensa-
tion. However, it should be noted, that the C2-aldehyde-
intermediates might not be the only source of recondensa-
tion reactions. The in situ stabilization strategies (Methods
B, D, E) may also stabilize other unstable reaction intermedi-
ates. More extensive mechanistic insight is needed, and stud-
ies are underway in our laboratories.
The control reactions (Methods A and C) provided mainly
C3-monomers (Hibbert ketones) typical for acid catalyzed
lignin depolymerization (Figuress 11a, S29 and S31),15,16 and as
expected monomer quantities were low due to the severe
recondensation processes.
The acetal formation methodology (Method B), clearly
showed excellent selectivity towards the expected products,
as 79% of all identified monomeric products were C2-acetals
(Figure 12), which corresponded to an overall yield of 5 wt%
from dioxosolv lignin (Figure 11b). Ketals formed by ethylene
glycol, of the expected C3-Hibbert ketones were also ob-
served. These reactions were successfully upscaled and the
corresponding acetals A1 and A2 were isolated as single com-
pounds by column chromatography from beech ethanosolv
lignin in 2.0 wt% (39 mg) and 2.6 wt% (53 mg) yield respec-
tively (See SI section 5), in accordance with the values de-
termined by GC-FID for walnut lignin.
The in situ conversion of the C2-adehyde fragment using
Methods B, D and E is a remarkably efficient method for
obtaining distinctly different aromatics from lignin.
CONCLUSION
For economically viable establishment of biorefineries,
valorization of lignin is essential. To this end, new meth-
ods are desired, that depolymerize lignin in a sufficiently
controlled manner so that the isolation of single com-
pounds can be achieved. Here we present a novel ap-
proach to catalytic lignin depolymerization. Our key in-
novation is the in situ conversion of the reactive C2-
aldehyde fragments (C2-aldehyde), formed during acid
catalyzed depolymerization of lignin. This novel approach
markedly suppresses the formation of high molecular
weight side products and leads to three distinct classes of
aromatic compounds upon acidolysis of lignin depending
on the methodology used. This represents an important
step towards extending the available pool of possible
lignin-derived fine chemicals,1c especially since aldehydes
can also be obtained by other catalytic routes.1a,2a,6k Future
Catalytic hydrogenation (Method D), provided substantial
amounts of phenolic-C2 fragments (44%), the expected ethyl
and ethanol-substituted aromatics34b,35 being the main C2-
products. While 4-ethylphenol was the major product for the
phenolic subunits, 2-(4-guaiacyl)-ethanol is a major product
for the guaiacol subunit (see Figure S32). Additionally, pro-
pyl-phenolics were found, originating from the analogous
hydrogenation of the C3-cleavage intermediates formed
through Pathway A.7d-g,30,34b,36 Overreduction of the aromatic
rings was not significant (8%).
Catalytic decarbonylation (Method E) led to lower overall
quantities of monomeric aromatic products, however, the
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10160. (k) Harms, R. G.; Markovits, I. I. E.; Drees, M.; Herrmann,
research will focus on in-depth mechanistic understand-
1
2
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5
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8
W. A.; Cokoja, M.; Kühn, F. E. ChemSusChem, 2014, 7, 429. (l) F.
Tran, C. S. Lance, P. C. J. Kamer, T. Lebl, N. J. Westwood, Green.
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J.; Stoychev, S.; Mottweiler, J.; Bolm, C.; Klankermayer, J.; Leit-
ner, W. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 5859.
ing of lignin conversion pathways and the precise role of
reaction intermediates in order to maximize the amount
of monomeric products.
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
7 (a) Vispute, T. P.; Zhang, H.; Sanna, A.; Xiao, R.; Huber, G. W.;
Science 2010, 330, 1222. (b) He, J.; Zhao, Ch.; Lercher, J. A.; J. Am.
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Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 11499. (d) Song, Q.; Wang, F.; Cai, J.;
Wang, Y.; Zhang, J.; Yu, W.; Xu, J.; Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, 6,
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Supporting Information: The supplied supporting infor-
mation contains details on the materials and methods (SI
section 1), synthesis of the model compounds (SI section 2),
procedures and additional data on the cleavage of β-O-4
model compounds (SI section 3) as well as on the depolymer-
ization of walnut dioxosolv lignin (SI section 4) and isolation
of acetals from beech ethanosolv lignin (SI section 5). “This
material is available free of charge via the Internet at
http://pubs.acs.org.”
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from
the European Commission (SuBiCat Initial Training Net-
work, Call FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN, grant no. 607044) as well
as T. Yan, A. Narani and B. Oldenburger (Rijkuniversiteit
Groningen) for their contribution to the synthesis of model
compounds and development of lignin isolation procedures.
8
(a) Kobayashi, H.; Ohta, H.; Fukuoka, A. Catal. Sci. Techol.
2012, 2, 869. (b) Azadi, P.; Inderwildi, O. R.; Farnood, R.; King,
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ABBREVIATIONS
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CCR2, CC chemokine receptor 2; CCL2, CC chemokine ligand
2; CCR5, CC chemokine receptor 5; TLC, thin layer chroma-
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