An international research team led by the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) and several Chinese universities has developed an innovative, sustainable process that produces high-quality amides from the plant substance lignin. These compounds serve as key components for pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and advanced materials. The results were recently published.

The use of renewable resources and the valorisation of waste materials are key elements for a circular economy. Lignin, which is produced in large quantities in paper, pulp and bioethanol production and is the second most abundant biopolymer in the world after cellulose, has hardly been used commercially so far. The team, which is collaborating with Zunyi Medical University, Nanjing Forestry University, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion and VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, is now showing a way to efficiently utilize this material.

The process uses single-atom catalysts in which cobalt atoms are anchored in a carbon matrix. These catalysts enable a precise and selective conversion of lignin in two steps within a reaction vessel: First, lignin is broken down with oxygen into carboxylic acids, which then react with ammonia or amines to form aromatic amides. The process does not use toxic reagents and runs under mild conditions, which increases environmental friendliness. The researchers were even able to obtain usable amides with a high yield from pine wood chips, and the catalyst remains stable with up to six reuses.

The work lays the foundation for sustainable production of chemical building blocks from biomass and supports the transition to a circular economy by replacing fossil raw materials.

Original Paper:

Z. Ma, Z. Chen, Z. Yuan, C. Ren, B. Zhang, Y. Cui, X. Li, R. V. Jagadeesh, M. Beller. Nature Communications 2025, 16, 3476. (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58559-y) Synthesis of aromatic amides from lignin and its derivatives.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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