93-16-3Relevant articles and documents
Methylation with Dimethyl Carbonate/Dimethyl Sulfide Mixtures: An Integrated Process without Addition of Acid/Base and Formation of Residual Salts
Chan, Bun,Lui, Matthew Y.,Lui, Yuen Wai
, (2022/01/08)
Dimethyl sulfide, a major byproduct of the Kraft pulping process, was used as an inexpensive and sustainable catalyst/co-reagent (methyl donor) for various methylations with dimethyl carbonate (as both reagent and solvent), which afforded excellent yields of O-methylated phenols and benzoic acids, and mono-C-methylated arylacetonitriles. Furthermore, these products could be isolated using a remarkably straightforward workup and purification procedure, realized by dimethyl sulfide‘s neutral and distillable nature and the absence of residual salts. The likely mechanisms of these methylations were elucidated using experimental and theoretical methods, which revealed that the key step involves the generation of a highly reactive trimethylsulfonium methylcarbonate intermediate. The phenol methylation process represents a rare example of a Williamson-type reaction that occurs without the addition of a Br?nsted base.
Cleavage of lignin C-O bonds over a heterogeneous rhenium catalyst through hydrogen transfer reactions
Zhang, Bo,Qi, Zaojuan,Li, Xinxin,Ji, Jianwei,Zhang, Leilei,Wang, Hua,Liu, Xiaoyan,Li, Changzhi
supporting information, p. 5556 - 5564 (2019/10/28)
Hydrogenolysis is one of the most popular strategies applied in the depolymerization of lignin for the production of aromatic chemicals. Currently, this strategy is mainly conducted under high hydrogen pressure, which can pose safety risks and is not sustainable and economical. Herein, we reported that heterogeneous rhenium oxide supported on active carbon (ReOx/AC) exhibited excellent activity in the selective cleavage of lignin C-O bonds in isopropanol. High yields of monophenols (up to 99.0%) from various lignin model compounds and aromatic liquid oils (>50%) from lignin feedstock were obtained under mild conditions in the absence of H2. The characterization of the catalyst by X-ray absorption fine structure, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and H2-temperature-programed reduction suggested that the activity of ReOx/AC could be attributed to the presence of ReIV-VI. The interaction between the surface oxygen groups of the active carbon and rhenium oxide could also play an important role in the cleavage of the C-O bonds. Notably, an ReOx/AC-catalyzed C-O bond cleavage pathway beyond a typical deoxydehydration mechanism was disclosed. More importantly, 2D-HSQC-NMR and GPC characterizations showed that ReOx/AC exhibited high activity not only in β-O-4 cleavage, but also in the deconstruction of more resistant β-5 and β-β linkages in lignin without destroying the aromatic ring. This study paves the way for the development of rhenium-based catalysts for the controlled reductive valorization of realistic lignin materials through a hydrogen transfer pathway.
Specific Residues Expand the Substrate Scope and Enhance the Regioselectivity of a Plant O-Methyltransferase
Tang, Qingyun,Bornscheuer, Uwe T.,Pavlidis, Ioannis V.
, p. 3227 - 3233 (2019/07/04)
An isoeugenol 4-O-methyltransferase (IeOMT), isolated from the plant Clarkia breweri, can be engineered to a caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase (CaOMT) by replacing three consecutive residues. Here we further investigated functions of these residues by constructing the triple mutant T133M/A134N/T135Q as well as single mutants of each residue. Phenolics with different chain lengths and different functional groups were investigated. The variant T133M improves the enzymatic activities against all tested substrates by providing beneficial interactions to residues which directly interact with the substrate. Mutant A134N significantly enhanced the regioselectivity. It is meta-selective or even specific against most of the tested substrates but para-specific towards 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid. The triple mutant T133M/A134N/T135Q benefits from these two mutations, which not only expand the substrate scope but also enhance the regioselectivity of IeOMT. On the basis of our work, regiospecific methylated phenolics can be produced in high purity by different IeOMT variants.
