Seth Beck and Samir H. Mushrif
Org. Biomol. Chem., 2023,21, 4596-4600
DOI:
10.1039/D3OB00702B,
Communication
The chemical structure of lignin has been shrouded in controversies, with a particularly prevalent issue pertaining to the degree of branching in it. The present work computationally demonstrates that the predominant β-O-4 linkage comprising lignin can act as a branching point via an α-O-γ lignin linkage, altering how the community thinks of the lignin structure from a fundamental and valorization perspective.
