Investigations into laccase-mediator delignification of kraft pulps

The structure activity effects of l-hydroxy benzotriazole and phthalimide derivatives as mediators for laccase were studied. Using a softwood kraft pulp it was shown that the N-hydroxy unit is a key component of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole for efficient laccase mediator delignification to occur. It was also found that the 1-hydroxybenzotriazole structure was very sensitive to substituent effects with respect to laccase-mediator delignification. Computational results from PM3 indicate that the bond dissociation energy, and electronic factors of the radical may contribute to the efficiency of the mediator for LMS delignification.