Supramolecular interaction-driven delignification of lignocellulose

Lignocellulose has the great potential as a sustainable resource to replace fossil-based raw materials, however, properties, such as a complicated crosslinked structure, create a significant obstacle for utilization, as the isolation of lignocellulose components has hardly been achieved under mild c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Green chemistry : an international journal and green chemistry resource : GC 2024-01, Vol.26 (1), p.287-294
Main Authors: Sirviö, Juho Antti, Romakkaniemi, Idamaria, Ahola, Juha, Filonenko, Svitlana, Heiskanen, Juha P, Ämmälä, Ari
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambient temperature
Green chemistry
Hydrogen bonds
Lignin
Lignocellulose
Raw materials
Room temperature
Softwoods
Thymol
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Summary:Lignocellulose has the great potential as a sustainable resource to replace fossil-based raw materials, however, properties, such as a complicated crosslinked structure, create a significant obstacle for utilization, as the isolation of lignocellulose components has hardly been achieved under mild conditions. Here, we demonstrate that the use of an aromatic hydrogen bond donor (thymol) creates a supramolecular interaction between the delignification medium and lignin, which is key to removing almost all the lignin from the softwood within minutes, at near-ambient temperatures. Strong support for supramolecular interactions was demonstrated via the formation of a room temperature liquid between two solids (lignin and thymol). The concept of supramolecular interaction between lignin and thymol will help elevate the feasibility of biobased materials across a wide range of applications. Extremely fast delignification of softwood at low temperature was realized using thymol as aromatic hydrogen bond donor, forming supramolecular interaction with lignin as aromatic hydrogen bond acceptor.
ISSN:1463-9262
1463-9270
DOI:10.1039/d3gc03857b