13C NMR Characterization of Guaiacyl, Guaiacyl/Syringyl and Syringyl Dehydrogenation Polymers

Summary Dehydrogenation polymers (DHPs) were prepared from coniferyl alcohol (CA), sinapyl alcohol (SA), and a mixture of coniferyl and sinapyl alcohol. The polymers were fully acetylated and their carbon NMR spectra were compared. Comparison of the 13C NMR spectra of the DHPs with those of authentic tri- and tetralignols facilitated the assignment of about 85% of the 117 reported signals. Most of the unassigned signals were those from syringyl units. Major differences between the DHP prepared from CA and a pine milled wood lignin were: a relative deficiency of s-O-4 linkages and a predominance of s-5, s-s, and CA end units in the DHP. In contrast, there was no significant quantity of SA end units in a DHP prepared from SA. A major conclusion of the study confirmed that DHPs prepared from CA are relatively poor models of natural lignins isolated from gymnosperms.