Bond length of b-O-4 linkage in lignin

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25660130
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Wood science
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Matsumoto Yuji 東京大学, 大学院農学生命科学研究科, 教授 (30183619)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: リグニン / バイオマス / 立体構造 / 芳香核 / b-O-4 結合

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The degradation of lignin determines the utilization of woody biomass. As an important factor which controls the lignin degradation, we focused on the cleavage of b-O-4 linkage of lignin. The purpose of this study was to clarify the mechanism of the aromatic structure and side-chain stereo structure of lignin to regulate the cleavage of b-O-4 linkage.
More than 10 kinds of lignin b-O-4 model compounds with different aromatic structure and side-chain structure were synthesized and subjected to alkali treatment under various condition. Results suggested that aromatic structure determines the cleavage of b-O-4 linkage through the degree of ionization of a-hydroxy group and the nucleophilicity of the ionized (dissociated) hydroxy group.

Free Research Field

木材化学