FeCl-Promoted Photocatalytic Cleavage of C-C Bond in Lignin and Lignin Model to Benzoic Acid.

Because of the complex structure and inherent inert chemical activity of lignin, it is still challenging to depolymerize lignin to obtain valuable chemicals efficiently. Here, we present an FeCl-promoted photocatalytic depolymerization strategy to realize the C-C oxidative cleavage of lignin model compounds at room temperature. The method generates benzoic acid and phenol compounds in high yields.