Improved Oxidative Cleavage of Lignin Model Compound by ORR in Protic Ionic Liquid

• Published in: International journal of electrochemical science Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 2645 - 2654
• Main Authors: Jiang, Haomin, Wang, Lei, Qiao, Lingling, Xue, Aiguo, Cheng, Yujuan, Chen, Yueying, Ren, Yuan, Chen, Yongmei, Wan, Pingyu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.03.2019
• Subjects: lignin depolymerization; oxygen reduction reaction (ORR); p-benzyloxyl phenol (PBP); protic ionic liquid (PIL); reactive oxygen species (ROS); p-benzyloxyl phenol (PBP); reactive oxygen species (ROS); lignin depolymerization; protic ionic liquid (PIL); oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)
• ISSN: 1452-3981; 1452-3981
• DOI: 10.20964/2019.03.10

The electrochemical degradation of p-benzyloxyl phenol (PBP) in [HNEt3][HSO4] is investigated using an oxygen reductive reaction (ORR) cathode in a non-membrane cell. It is disclosed that the two-electron reductive products of O2 (that is H2O2) is the main reactive oxygen species (ROS) in [HNEt3][HSO4], a protic ionic liquid (PIL). The degradation of PBP in PIL with the degradation rate of 48.2% and the current efficiency of 29.5% are obtained, which is higher than that in [BMIM][BF4], an aprotic ionic liquid (AIL). Based on the products identified by GC-MS, the effect of electro-generated H2O2 on the cleavage of ether bond in PBP is proposed. The result confirms that the appropriate number of protons in supporting electrolyte plays an important role in electrochemical degradation of lignin model compounds.