Selective Ether/Ester C-O Cleavage of an Acetylated Lignin Model via Tandem Catalysis
Selective ether/ester C-O bond hydrogenolysis of an acetylated lignin model is achieved using a thermodynamically leveraged tandem catalytic strategy. Acetylation serves to (1) solubilize both lignin and lignin models and to (2) modify the reactivity of pendant hydroxy groups to promote more selective C-O cleavage.