Tunable Boc Modification of Lignin and Its Impact on Microbial Degradation Rate

A new type of modified lignin, lignin-p-Boc was obtained through reaction with di-tert-butyl dicarbonate in aqueous media. Boc modification occurred regardless of types of lignin, was tunable, and proceeded well in recovering lignin at high purity from sodium lignosulfonate. Further reactivity of Lignin-p-BOC was demonstrated as a potential reactive filler in green plastic and as potential crosslinker in design of bioresorbable composite polymeric implants. Furthermore, the effects of the modification on the breakdown rate of alkali lignin by microbial (white rot fungus P. chrysosporium) was investigated, and the results showed that the modification obviously decreased the breakdown rate.