Efficient conversion of lignin to alkylphenols over highly stable inverse spinel MnFe₂O₄ catalysts

Abstract

The aromatic properties of lignin make it a promising source of valuable chemicals and fuels. Developing efficient and stable catalysts to effectively convert lignin into high-value chemicals is challenging. In this work, MnFe₂O₄ spinel catalysts with oxygen-rich vacancies and porous distribution were synthesized by a simple solvothermal process and used to catalyze the depolymerization of lignin in an isopropanol solvent system. The specific surface area was 110.5 m²∙g^–1, which substantially increased the active sites for lignin depolymerization compared to Fe₃O₄. The conversion of lignin reached 94%, and the selectivity of alkylphenols exceeded 90% after 5 h at 250 °C. Underpinned by characterizations, products, and density functional theory analysis, the results showed that the catalytic performance of MnFe₂O₄ was attributed to the composition of Mn and Fe with strong Mn–O–Fe synergy. In addition, the cycling experiments and characterization showed that the depolymerized lignin on MnFe₂O₄ has excellent cycling stability. Thus, our work provides valuable insights into the mechanism of lignin catalytic depolymerization and paves the way for the industrial-scale application of this process.

Key words： lignin depolymerization; spinel; catalysts; hydrogenation

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 22038004 and 22078069).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11705-022-2236-1 and is accessible for authorized users.

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