The Oxidative C−C Bond Cleavage for the Valorization of Lignin

Abstract Selective and efficient transformation of lignin to the value‐added chemicals is of importance to realize the industrial application of the renewable biomass resources. The oxidative cleavage of carbon‐carbon (C−C) bond is a promising technique for the depolymerization and refining of lignin. Herein, the catalyst system for oxidative valorization of lignin and lignin models is summarized, which includes the thermocatalytic, photocatalytic and electrocatalytic approaches. In the thermocatalytic system, homogeneous catalysis and heterogeneous catalysis is introduced and discussed, respectively. For the photocatalytic or electrocatalytic system, the used photocatalyst or electrocatalyst is emphasized. At last, the insights to main challenges and future perspectives on the oxidative valorization of lignin have been presented.