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Published on: June 17, 2014
Lewis-Pair-Mediated Selective Dimerization and Polymerization of Lignocellulose-Based β-Angelica Lactone into Biofuel
1State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai, 200032, P. R. China.
Abstract:
This contribution reports an unprecedentedly efficient dimerization and the first successful polymerization of lignocellulose-based β-angelica lactone (β-AL) by utilizing a selective Lewis pair (LP) catalytic system, thereby establishing a versatile bio-refinery platform wherein two products, including a dimer for high-quality gasoline-like biofuel (C8 -C9 branched alkanes, yield=87 %) and a heat- and solvent-resistant acrylic bioplastic (Mn up to 26.0 kg mol-1 ), can be synthesized from one feedstock by one catalytic system. The underlying reason for exquisite selectivity of the LP catalytic system toward dimerization and polymerization was explored mechanistically.
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