EPR; Free radicals; Spectroscopy; Depolymerization; Characterization; Lignin
Custodis Victoria, Karakoulia S.A., Triantafyllidis K.S., van Bokhoven J.A. (2016), Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Lignin over High-Surface-Area Mesoporous Aluminosilicates: Effect of Porosity and Acidity, in
ChemSusChem, 9(10), 1134-1145.
Bährle Christian, Custodis Victoria, Jeschke Gunnar, van Bokhoven Jeroen, Vogel Frédéric (2016), In Situ High Temperature Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study on the Influence of Zeolites on the Radical Formation during Lignin Pyrolysis, in
ChemSusChem, 9, 2397-2403.
Ma Zhiqiang, Custodis Victoria, Hemberger Patrik, Bährle Christian, Vogel Frédéric, Jeschke Gunnar, van Bokhoven Jeroen (2015), Chemicals from Lignin by Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis, from Product Control to Reaction Mechanism, in
Chimia, 69(10), 597-602.
Bährle Christian, Nick Thomas, Bennati Marina, Jeschke Gunner, Vogel Frédéric (2015), High-Field Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and Density Functional Theory Study of Stable Organic Radicals in Lignin: Influence of the Extraction Process, Botanical Origin, and Protonation Reactions on, in
J. Phys. Chem. A, 119(24), 6475-6482.
Custodis Victoria, Bährle Christian, Vogel Frédéric, van Bokhoven Jeroen (2015), Phenols and Aromatics from Fast Pyrolysis of variously prepared Lignins from Hard- and Softwoods, in
Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 115, 214-223.
Bährle C., Custodis V., Jeschke G., van Bokhoven J.A., Vogel F. (2014), In Situ Observation of Radicals and Molecular Products during Lignin Pyrolysis, in
ChemSusChem, 7, 2022-2029.
Custodis V.B.F., Hemberger P., Ma Z., van Bokhoven J. A. (2014), Mechanism of Fast Pyrolysis of Lignin: Studying Model Compounds, in
Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 118(29), 8524-8531.
Ma Zhiqiang, Custodis Victoria, van Bokhoven Jeroen (2014), Selective deoxygenation of lignin during catalytic fast pyrolysis, in
Catalysis Science & Technology, 4, 766-772.
This research project aims at contributing towards viable processes for the production of chemicals from lignin by focusing on the chemical reactivity of lignin as a feedstock for functionalized aromatic moieties, e.g. phenolics and polyphenolics. We propose to perform a detailed study on a range of model lignins extracted in exactly the same way, and including also technical lignins. Several state-of-the-art spectroscopy techniques such as IR, UV-Vis, NMR, XPS, EPR will be applied. Emphasis will be given on the free radical character of lignin. Learnings from the structural characterization will be tested and validated using catalytic flash pyrolysis. We seek funding for two PhD students located at ETHZ and PSI complementing each other. The results of this project will be of great value to all more applied projects aiming at depolymerizing the lignin with specific processes, e.g. selective oxidation or hydrogenation.