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Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Extraction of Lignin with High β-O-4 Content by Mild Ethanol Extraction and Its Effect on the Depolymerization Yield
Published on: January 7, 2019
Mild and Robust Redox-Neutral Pd/C-Catalyzed Lignol β-O-4' Bond Cleavage Through a Low-Energy-Barrier Pathway
Maxim V Galkin1, Christian Dahlstrand1, Joseph S M Samec2
1Department of Chemistry, BMC, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, 751 23, Uppsala (Sweden).
Abstract:
A Pd/C catalyzed redox neutral C¢O bond cleavage of 2-aryloxy-1-arylethanols has been developed. The reactions are carried out at 80 °C, in air, using a green solvent system to yield the aryl ketones in near quantitative yields. Addition of catalytic amounts of a hydrogen source to the reaction mixture activates the catalyst to proceed through a low energy barrier pathway. Initial studies support a transfer hydrogenolysis reaction mechanism that proceeds through an initial dehydrogenation followed by an enol adsorption to Pd/C and a reductive C¢O bond cleavage.
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