Transitioning from crude oil to renewable sources of carbon-based chemicals is critical for advancing sustainable development. Lignin, a wood-derived biomacromolecule, holds great potential as a renewable feedstock, but efficient depolymerization and dearomatization methods are required to fully unlock its potential. In this investigation, we present a silver-catalyzed aqueous electrocatalytic method for the selective depolymerization and partial dearomatization of soda lignin under mild, ambient conditions. Utilizing a water/sodium carbonate solvent system and a silver electrode to mediate the electrochemical reduction, we achieved significant lignin depolymerization over reaction times ranging from 5 to 20 h. Analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) revealed sodium levulinate, sodium acetate, and sodium formate as the main aliphatic products, alongside various aromatic species in the depolymerized lignin products (DL). This selective conversion of lignin into both valuable aromatic compounds and reactive aliphatic intermediates offers promising opportunities for further synthesis of a wide range of organic chemicals, contributing to the development of a more sustainable and circular economy.

A new synthetic method for the synthesis of C-substituted [RC(O)CH₂-CB₁₁H₁₁]⁻ carborate anions has been developed. The reaction of [closo-B₁₁H₁₁]²⁻ with terminal alkynes in the presence of a copper catalyst leads to insertion into the boron cluster, and C-substituted [RC(O)CH₂-CB₁₁H₁₁]⁻ carborate anions are formed. These reactions are strongly dependent on the reaction conditions, the solvents, and the alkynes used. The alkynes HCCCO₂Et, HCCCO₂Me, and HCCCONH₂ lead to the formation of [NH₂C(O)CH₂-CB₁₁H₁₁]⁻ as the final product in aqueous ammonia solution. In contrast, the reaction using the alkyne HCCCOMe yields [MeC(O)CH₂-CB₁₁H₁₁]⁻. The products have been fully characterized by multinuclear NMR and IR spectroscopy as well as mass spectrometry. The crystal structures of K[NH₂C(O)CH₂-CB₁₁H₁₁] and [NEt₃CH₂Cl][NH₂C(O)CH₂-CB₁₁H₁₁] have been determined.