Selective production of 2-(tert-butyl)-3-methylphenol from depolymerization of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin with MoS2 catalyst

| openaire: EC/H2020/101006744/EU//EHLCATHOL This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21808163). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101006744. The content presented in this document represents the views of the authors, and the European Commission has no liability in respect of the content.Low selectivity and complex product distribution are the main challenges for the utilization of lignin. Herein, the selective production of 2-(tert-butyl)-3-methylphenol (TBC), an antioxidant in the polymer industry, from depolymerization of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) on a hydrothermally synthesized MoS2 catalyst is studied. The total aromatic monomer yield is 124.1mg/g EHL and the selectivity of TBC is up to 40.3wt% in methanol at 280oC under 2MPa H2 for 6h. The FT-IR analysis of products reveals that MoS2 has a high activity for demethylation, dehydroxylation and alkylation, and the dimer conversions reveal that C-O and C-C bonds in EHL are broken with MoS2. The guaiacol and its derivants are identified as the intermediate for formation of TBC in EHL depolymerizaiton according to the effect of time on product distribution and monomer converison.Peer reviewe