Mechanistic insight into hydroxy-methylation of hardwood Kraft lignin

In view of developing upcycling strategies for hardwood Kraft lignin, hydroxy-methylation of Eucalyptus Kraft lignin under alkaline conditions (pH 9 and 11) at different temperatures (50 °C and 70 °C) was studied in the present effort with the double objective of optimizing the reaction conditions and understanding the functionalization mechanism of C₅ in either terminal or internal guaiacyl units during hydroxy-methylation. Formaldehyde consumption was estimated via titration of the oximated free formaldehyde; the hydroxy-methylation degree under the reaction was estimated by calculating the ratio in Condensed hydroxyl/Guaiacyl (Condensed OH/G-OH) via a new difference UV-spectroscopy. The reliability of the difference UV-method results for the analyses of the hydroxy-methylated lignins was statistically analysed and compared with that of vacuum-dried and sonicated samples. Hydroxy-methylated samples were then fully characterised by NMR (³¹P and HSQC) and GPC. The reaction temperature of 50 °C, pH 11, and period time of one hour resulted as the optimal conditions for the hydroxy-methylation, preventing the side-reactions leading to the formation of dimethylene-glycol addition products. The ³¹P and ¹H–¹³C HSQC NMR revealed the absence of undesirable formaldehyde Cannizzaro by-products and the lack of hydroxymethyl groups in the aliphatic side chain under the studied conditions. GPC analyses, comparing two methodologies, revealed increases in molar mass of the hydroxy-methylated samples upon the formaldehyde addition. The selective hydroxy-methylation at the C5 guaiacyl site demonstrates that Eucalyptus Kraft lignin is as a promising candidate for resol production.