From Waste Biomass to Solid Support: Lignosulfonate as a Cost-Effective and Renewable Supporting Material for Catalysis

Lignosulfonate (LS) is an organic waste generated as a byproduct of the cooking process in sulfite pulping in the manufacture of paper. In this paper, LS was used as an anionic supporting material for immobilizing cationic species, which can then be used as heterogeneous catalysts in some organic transformations. With this strategy, three lignin‐supported catalysts were prepared including 1) lignin‐SO3Sc(OTf)2, 2) lignin‐SO3Cu(OTf), and 3) lignin‐IL@NH2 (IL=ionic liquid). These solid materials were then examined in many organic transformations. It was finally found that, compared with its homogeneous counterpart as well as some other solid catalysts that are prepared by using different supports with the same metal or catalytically active species, the lignin‐supported catalysts showed better performance in these reactions not only in terms of activity but also with regard to recyclability. Trash, but not as we know it! Lignosulfonate (LS) is a waste biomass generated as a byproduct of a cooking process in sulfite pulping in the manufacture of paper. LS was used as an anionic supporting material for immobilizing cationic species, which can then be used as a heterogeneous catalyst in some organic transformations (see scheme).