Selective hydrogenolysis of the C_aryl–O bonds in lignin is a key strategy for the generation of fuels and chemical feedstocks from biomass. Currently, hydrogenolysis has been mainly conducted using hydrogen, which is flammable and not sustainable or economical. Herein, an external hydrogen-free process for aryl ethers hydrogenolysis in lignin models and dioxasolv lignin over nickel nanoparticles supported on Al₂O₃, is reported. Kinetic studies reveal that the transfer hydrogenolysis activity of the three model compounds decreased in the following order: benzyl phenyl ether (α-O-4), 2-phenylethyl phenyl ether (β-O-4) and diphenyl ether (4-O-5), which linearly corresponds to their binding energies and the activation energies. The main reaction route for the three model compounds was the cleavage of the ether bonds to produce aromatic alkanes and phenol, and the latter was further reduced to cyclohexanol. Dioxasolv lignin depolymerization results exhibit a significant C_aryl–O decrease over the Ni nanoparticles supported on Al₂O₃ with iso-propanol as the hydrogen source through 2D-HSQC-NMR analysis, which confirmed the transfer hydrogenolysis conclusion in the model study. This work provides an economical and environmentally-friendly method for the selective cleavage of lignin and lignin model compounds into value-added chemicals.

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a very important versatile platform compound derived from renewable biomass.

Sustainable afterglow room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials, especially afterglow RTP structural materials, are crucial but remain difficult to achieve. Here, an oxidation strategy is developed to convert lignin to afterglow materials with a lifetime of ~ 408 ms. Specifically, lignin is oxidized to give aromatic chromophores and fatty acids using H₂O₂. The aromatic chromophores are locked by a fatty acid-based matrix by hydrogen bonds, triggering enhanced spin orbit coupling and long afterglow emission. More interestingly, motivated by this discovery, an auto fabrication line is built to convert wood (natural structural materials) to wood with afterglow RTP emission (RTP wood) via in situ oxidation of naturally-occurring lignin located in the wood cell walls to oxidized lignin (OL). The as-prepared RTP wood exhibits great potential for the construction of sustainable afterglow furniture. With this research we provide a new strategy to promote the sustainability of afterglow RTP materials and structural materials.