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Updated: Oct 25, 2025

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
Cleavage of Organosolv Lignin to Phenols Using Nitrogen Monoxide and Hydrazine
Laura Elena Hofmann1, Lisa-Marie Altmann1, Oliver Fischer1
1Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nikolaus-Fiebiger-Str. 10, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Abstract:
From the variety of methods known for the depolymerization of organosolv lignin, a broad range of diversely substituted aromatic compounds are available today. In the present work, a novel two-step reaction sequence is reported, which is focused on the formation of phenols. While the first step of the depolymerization strategy comprises the 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ)-catalyzed oxidation of organosolv lignin with nitrogen monoxide so that two waste materials are combined, cleavage to the phenolic target compounds is achieved in the second step employing hydrazine and potassium hydroxide under Wolff-Kishner-type conditions. Besides the fact that the novel strategy proceeds via an untypical form of oxidized organosolv lignin, the two-step sequence is further able to provide phenols as cleavage products, which bear no substituent at the 4-position.
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