THERMAL INDUCED HOMOLYTIC SCISSIONS OF LIGNIN INTERUNITARY BONDS IN THE HARDWOOD LIGNIN SOLUTION. AN ESR STUDY COMBINED WITH A SPIN TRAPPING METHOD

An electron spin resonance (ESR) method combined with a spin trapping reagent was successfully applied to trap and characterize unstable free radicals which were generated by heat-treatment of the dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solution of a hardwood, Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) lignin. It was found, consequently, that two unstable secondary carbon radicals, ～ CH? in the solution were created and the resulting radicals were trapped as the stable nitroxide spin adducts when the DMSO solution was heat-treated in the presence of a spin trapping reagent: 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylnitrosobenzene (BNB) at ca. 91°C. This means that so-called alkyl phenyl ether bonds, ～ CH-O- phenyl, known as important lignin interunitary bonds were homolytically scissoned by the heat-treatment of the lignin solution. Further the detailed analysis of the observed ESR spectrum revealed that two positions of alkyl phenyl ether bonds, i.e., β-O-4 and/or α-O-4 bonds as the interunitary linkages in the lignin are homolytically scissioned, although the phenoxy radical, Ph-O ? as the counter radical of the secondary carbon radicals was not trapped by the BNB spin trap. This suggests that fairly large steric hindrances operate between the syringyl with two methoxy moieties at the ortho positions and/or guaiacyl moieties with a methoxy moiety at the ortho position, and the BNB molecule bearing two bulky ortho tert-butyl groups in the phenyl ring.