Unprecedented oxidative properties of mesoporous silica materials: Towards microwave-assisted oxidation of lignin model compounds

Sushanta K. Badamali*, Rafael Luque, James H. Clark, Simon W. Breeden

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The unusual oxidative ability of mesoporous silicas towards oxidation of an important lignin model molecule, 1,2-(4-hydroxy-3methoxy-phenoxy) ethanol, apocynol under microwave irradiation is presented in this work. Mesoporous MCM-41, HMS, SBA-15 and amorphous silica were employed as catalysts in the present study. Different reactivities were obtained for the various silica materials. It was assumed that the substrate conversion and product selectivity were highly influenced by the nature of mesoporous silica materials. Based on the nature of the catalysts and reaction product profile, a plausible mechanism has been proposed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-4
Number of pages4
JournalCatalysis Communications
Volume31
Early online date8 Nov 2012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Jan 2013

Keywords

  • Apocynol
  • Lignin degradation
  • Mesoporous silica
  • Microwaves

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