Results
Title

Sustainable Production of Benzylamines from Lignin.

Authors

Zhang, Bo; Guo, Tenglong; Liu, Yuxuan; Kühn, Fritz E.; Wang, Chao; Zhao, Zongbao K.; Xiao, Jianliang; Li, Changzhi; Zhang, Tao

Abstract

Catalytic conversion of lignin into heteroatom functionalized chemicals is of great importance to bring the biorefinery concept into reality. Herein, a new strategy was designed for direct transformation of lignin β‐O‐4 model compounds into benzylamines and phenols in moderate to excellent yields in the presence of organic amines. The transformation involves dehydrogenation of Cα−OH, hydrogenolysis of the Cβ−O bond and reductive amination in the presence of Pd/C catalyst. Experimental data suggest that the dehydrogenation reaction proceeds over the other two reactions and secondary amines serve as both reducing agents and amine sources in the transformation. Moreover, the concept of "lignin to benzylamines" was demonstrated by a two‐step process. This work represents a first example of synthesis of benzylamines from lignin, thus providing a new opportunity for the sustainable synthesis of benzylamines from renewable biomass, and expanding the products pool of biomass conversion to meet future biorefinery demands.

Subjects

BENZYLAMINES; LIGNINS; SECONDARY amines; BIOMASS conversion; REDUCING agents; HYDROGENOLYSIS

Publication

Angewandte Chemie, 2021, Vol 133, Issue 38, p20834

ISSN

0044-8249

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1002/ange.202105973