Sustainable production of dopamine hydrochloride from softwood lignin

Lin Dong; Yanqin Wang; Yuguo Dong; Yin Zhang; Mingzhu Pan; Xiaohui Liu; Xiaoli Gu; Markus Antonietti; Zupeng Chen

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-40702-2

Sustainable production of dopamine hydrochloride from softwood lignin

Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 17;14(1):4996. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40702-2.

Authors

Lin Dong^{1

2}, Yanqin Wang³, Yuguo Dong¹, Yin Zhang¹, Mingzhu Pan¹, Xiaohui Liu², Xiaoli Gu¹, Markus Antonietti⁴, Zupeng Chen^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Longpan Road 159, 210037, Nanjing, China.
² Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 200237, Shanghai, China.
³ Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 200237, Shanghai, China. wangyanqin@ecust.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Research Campus Golm, Am Mühlenberg 1, Potsdam, 14476, Germany.
⁵ Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Longpan Road 159, 210037, Nanjing, China. czp@njfu.edu.cn.
⁶ Leibniz-Institute for Catalysis, University of Rostock, Albert Einstein Street, 29a, Rostock, 18059, Germany. czp@njfu.edu.cn.

Abstract

Dopamine is not only a widely used commodity pharmaceutical for treating neurological diseases but also a highly attractive base for advanced carbon materials. Lignin, the waste from the lignocellulosic biomass industry, is the richest source of renewable aromatics on earth. Efficient production of dopamine direct from lignin is a highly desirable target but extremely challenging. Here, we report an innovative strategy for the sustainable production of dopamine hydrochloride from softwood lignin with a mass yield of 6.4 wt.%. Significantly, the solid dopamine hydrochloride is obtained by a simple filtration process in purity of 98.0%, which avoids the tedious separation and purification steps. The approach begins with the acid-catalyzed depolymerization, followed by deprotection, hydrogen-borrowing amination, and hydrolysis of methoxy group, transforming lignin into dopamine hydrochloride. The technical economic analysis predicts that this process is an economically competitive production process. This study fulfills the unexplored potential of dopamine hydrochloride synthesis from lignin.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Amination
Biomass
Carbon
Dopamine*
Lignin*

Substances

Dopamine
Lignin
Carbon