Highlights•New monomers have been discovered, and structural aspects of the lignin
polymer have been refined.•The definition of a lignin monomer has been broadened.• …

Reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) of lignocellulose is an emerging biorefinery scheme
that combines biomass fractionation with lignin depolymerisation. Central to this scheme is …

Polyurethanes (PUs) are key players in the plastics industry. According to the Global
Polyurethane Market (2019–2023), their value in the global market reached $95.13 billion in …

The general phenylpropanoid metabolism generates an enormous array of secondary
metabolites based on the few intermediates of the shikimate pathway as the core unit. The …

The structure of the lignin in wheat straw has been investigated by a combination of
analytical pyrolysis, 2D-NMR, and derivatization followed by reductive cleavage (DFRC). It is …

The lignin biosynthetic pathway has been studied for more than a century but has
undergone major revisions over the past decade. Significant progress has been made in …

Lignins are complex natural polymers resulting from oxidative coupling of, primarily, 4-
hydroxyphenylpropanoids. An understanding of their nature is evolving as a result of …

The processes underlying lignification, which for many years have been the near-exclusive
purview of chemists and biochemists, have more recently been approached using both …

Plant phenolics are secondary metabolites that encompass several classes structurally
diverse of natural products biogenetically arising from the shikimate-phenylpropanoids …

NMR fingerprinting of the components of finely divided plant cell walls swelled in DMSO has
been recently described. Cell wall gels, produced directly in the NMR tube with perdeutero …