Abstract
Lignin depolymerization is a growing research area for the synthesis of aromatic molecules. In current studies, photocatalytic lignin depolymerization has been investigated by designing a series of soft template-based Zn0.95Bi0.05O nano-materials (SK1-SK5). Synthesized nano-materials were characterized by PXRD, SEM/EDX, BET, FTIR and utilized for photocatalytic lignin depolymerization in the presence of direct sunlight. Lignin depolymerization was monitored by UV-Visible Spectroscopy and catalytic pathway analyzed by different kinetic models. Percent depolymerization was studied for the effect of catalyst dose, starting lignin concentration and different temperatures. Pseudo second order was found the best fitted kinetic model indicating chemically rate controlled mechanism. Activation energy (E-a) for the reaction was found to be 11 kJ/mol that is remarkably lower than conventional lignin depolymerization i.e. 59.75 kJ/mol depicting better catalytic efficiencies of tested materials. Lignin depolymerization products were characterized by HPLC and FTIR Spectroscopy and their analysis indicated the conversion of lignin into smaller subunits like syringaldehyde, sinapyl alcohol, phthalates, and 4-hydroxy-benzoic acid. Specifically, phenol (21%) and 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (16%) were detected by GCMS analysis in the products of lignin depolymerization by SK2.