The synthesis of carbonyl derivatives from renewable feedstocks, by direct oxidation/functionalization of activated and unactivated C­(sp3)–H bonds under a controlled and predictably selective fashion, especially in late stages, remains a formidable challenge. Herein, for the first time, cost-effective and widely applicable protocols for controlled and predictably selective oxidation of petroleum waste and feedstock ingredients like methyl-/alkylarenes to corresponding value-added carbonyls have been developed, using a surfactant-based oxodiperoxo molybdenum catalyst in water. The methodologies use hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as an environmentally benign green oxidant, and the reactions preclude the need of any external base, additive, or cocatalyst and can be operated under mild eco-friendly conditions. The developed protocols show a wide substrate scope and eminent functional group tolerance, especially oxidation-liable and reactive boronic acid groups. Upscaled multigram synthesis of complex steroid molecules by late-stage oxidation proves the robustness and practical utility of the current protocol since it employs an inexpensive recyclable catalyst and an easily available oxidant. A plausible mechanism has been proposed with the help of few controlled experiments and kinetic and computational studies.

Depolymerization of lignin biomass to its value-added chemicals and fuels is pivotal for achieving the goals for sustainable society, and therefore has acquired key interest among the researchers worldwide. A number of distinct approaches have evolved in literature for the deconstruction of lignin framework to its mixture of complex constituents in recent decades. Among the existing practices, special attention has been devoted for robust site selective chemical transformation in the complex structural frameworks of lignin. Despite the initial challenges over a period of time, oxidation and oxidative cleavage process of aromatic building blocks of lignin biomass toward the fine chemical synthesis and fuel generation has improved substantially. The development has improved in terms of cost effectiveness, milder reaction conditions, and purity of compound individuals. These aforementioned oxidative protocols

CTOHH-DNA, a newly developed catalyst utilized for both electrocatalytic OER and aromatic alcohol oxidation reaction with excellent activities.

Highly efficient and earth-abundant elements capable of water reduction by electrocatalysis and are attractive for the sustainable generation of fuels. Among the earth-abundant metals, copper is one of the cheapest but often the most neglected choice for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to its high overvoltage. Herein, for the first time we have tuned the overpotential of copper by tellurizing it by two different methodologies, viz. hydrothermal and wet chemical methods, which form copper telluride nanochains and aggregates. The application of copper telluride as an electrocatalyst for the HER gave fruitful results in terms of both activity and stability. The hydrothermally synthesized catalyst Cu2–x Te/hyd shows a low overpotential (347 mV) at 10 mA cm–2 toward the HER. In addition, the catalyst showed a very low charge transfer resistance (R ct) of 24.4 Ω and, as expected, Cu2–x Te/hyd exhibited a lower Tafel slope value of 188 mV/dec in comparison to Cu2–x Te/wet (280 mV/dec). A chronoamperometry study reveals the long-term stability of both catalysts even up to 12 h. The Faradaic efficiency of Cu2–x Te/hyd was calculated and found to be 95.06% by using gas chromatographic (GC) studies. Moreover, with the idea of utilizing produced hydrogen (H2) from electrocatalysis, for the first time we have carried out feedstock conversion to platform chemicals in water under eco-friendly green conditions. We have chosen cinnamaldehyde, 2-hydroxy-1-phenylethanone, 4-(benzyloxy)­benzaldehyde, and 2-(3-methoxyphenoxy)-1-phenylethanone (β-O-4) as model compounds for feedstock conversion by hydrogenation and/or hydrogenolysis reactions in aqueous medium using external hydrogen pressure. This protocol could also be scaled up for large-scale conversion and the catalyst is likely to find industrial application since it requires an inexpensive catalyst and an easily available, mild reducing agent. The robustness of the developed catalyst is proven by recyclability experiments and its possibility of use in real-life applications.

Biomass-derived lignin derivatives are significant biodegradable plant materials which produce a variety of valueadded products by oxidation/oxidative cleavage methods. These value-added products constitute important materials for the sustainable production of biofuels. The ultralevel quantitative detection of feedstock carbonyls on metal surfaces is possible with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technique. Considering environmental friendly protocols for activation of molecular oxygen in both valorization methods of biomass, the corresponding SERS detection protocols are rare.Here, for the very first time, RuO 2 -DNA nanochains aggregate as an efficient catalyst for oxidation/oxidative cleavage of biomass-derived lignin mimics and their subsequent in-situ SERS detection. Notably, both reactions are carried out in aqueous medium. For the controlled oxidation study, veratryl alcohol and cinnamyl alcohol were used as lignin mimics, and the respective carbonyls were detected by the SERS method by activating molecular oxygen. Also, by changing the oxidant from molecular oxygen to peroxide, the respective acids were seen to be formed for veratryl alcohol. We extend this protocol to oxidative cleavage of lignin-derived olefins, and diols, such as cinnamyl alcohol and 1-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol, and corresponding acids were formed and detected by SERS technique. This oxidation protocol could also be scaled-up for large-scale synthesis and recyclability experiments to prove the robustness of the catalyst under green conditions.