Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the largest renewable carbon sources. Previous lignin conversion strategies rely on harsh conditions such as high-temperature hydrogenolysis, leading to the critical issue in low-functionalized products. Here we report the depolymerization of lignin via a hydrogen atom transfer process under solar-driven illumination at room temperature using a polyaniline immobilized TiO2 photoanode. The conducting polyaniline polymer was used as an active component for the photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical devise fabrication due to facile preparation and unique electrical properties. The PANI-hybridized TiO2 photoanode was implemented for dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (DSPECs). The UV−vis absorption spectra of the TiO2/RuC-PANI films exhibited a broad band between 450 and 600 nm. We examined the photoelectrochemical properties of the TiO2/RuC-PANI in the presence of the hydrogen atom transfer co-catalyst, N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI), in acetonitrile. This photoelectrochemical heterogeneous catalytic process provides a unique photocatalytic oxidation, which exhibited the oxidation of the secondary alcohol from the starting lignin model compound, 2-phenoxy-1-phenylethanole, under 200 mW cm-2 visible light, λ&gt; 400 nm. Introduction of conducting PANI over the TiO2 photoanode was explored as a new concept to produce the performance of photocatalytic oxidation to the development of lignin conversion technologies.

Polyaniline-coated TiO2 as alternative photoanode for lignin depolymerization

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.