Molybdenum‐Catalyzed Oxidative Cleavage of Raw Poplar Sawdust into Mono‐Aromatics and Organic Acid Esters

Abstract Conversion of non‐edible lignocellulosic biomass into value‐added chemicals is of great significance and also particularly attractive. However, owing to the complexity and inertness, valorization of native lignocellulose remains to be quite challenging. Herein, catalytic oxidative cleavage of raw poplar sawdust was studied, mono‐aromatics and organic acid esters with 34.8 wt% and 27.4 wt% yield respectively were achieved over MoO 2 (acac) 2 with molecular oxygen, which was suggested to be attributed to a prior cleavage of the carbohydrate fractions. This catalytic oxidation approach demonstrates the feasibility of transformation of raw woody biomass into valuable chemicals.