Accessing Monomers from Lignin Through Carbon-Carbon Bond Cleavage

Chad Palumbo, Erik Ouellette, Jie Zhu, Yuriy Roman-Leshkov, Shannon Stahl, Gregg Beckham

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus Citations

Abstract

Lignin, the heterogeneous aromatic macromolecule found in the cell walls of vascular plants, is an abundant feedstock for the production of biochemicals and biofuels. Many valorization schemes rely on lignin depolymerization, with decades of research focused on accessing monomers through C-O bond cleavage, given the abundance of ..beta..-O-4 bonds in lignin and the large number of available C-O bond cleavage strategies. Monomer yields are, however, invariably lower than desired, owing to the presence of recalcitrant C-C bonds whose selective cleavage remains a major challenge in catalysis. In this Review, we highlight lignin C-C cleavage reactions, including those of linkages arising from biosynthesis (..beta..-1, ..beta..-5, ..beta..-..beta.. and 5-5) and industrial processing (5-CH2-5 and ..alpha..-5). We examine multiple approaches to C-C cleavage, including homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, photocatalysis and biocatalysis, to identify promising strategies for further research and provide guidelines for definitive measurements of lignin C-C bond cleavage.
Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)799-816
Number of pages18
JournalNature Reviews Chemistry
Volume8
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-2A00-89469

Keywords

  • C-C bond cleavage
  • catalysis
  • lignin depolymerization
  • lignin valorization

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