Vanadium catalyzed aerobic carbon–carbon cleavage

•The reactivity of vanadium complexes in the oxidative CC cleavage is discussed.•A brief historic overview of the CC bond cleavage in vicinal diols and hydroxyl-ether compounds is presented.•Recent applications of vanadium complexes as catalysts in the depolymerization of methoxylated phenoxy propanol units in lignin are reported.

In recent years, the use of vanadium complexes as catalysts and air or oxygen as oxidants has emerged as a new method for the effective oxidative carbon–carbon bond cleavage in a series of substrates, including 1,2-diols and α-hydroxy ethers. In addition to the advantageous use as a synthetic tool, vanadium catalyzed aerobic CC bond cleavage becomes even more appealing if applied to the degradation of lignocellulosic biomass and in particular in the oxidative depolymerization/degradation of lignin or cellulose. In this review, this chemistry, the most recent advances and the role played by homogeneous vanadium complexes are presented and discussed.

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