Nature Communications (Jul 2017)
Selective production of arenes via direct lignin upgrading over a niobium-based catalyst
Abstract
Lignin is cheap and abundant, and potentially a major source of aromatic compounds. Here the authors show selective production of arenes via hydrodeoxygenation of lignin over Ru/Nb2O5, and mechanistically show the strong influence of the Nb2O5support on phenolic bond dissociation energies.