Polycondensation of pyrogallol and glycine and the associated reactions as catalyzed by birnessite

Abstract

Birnessite catalyzes the polycondensation of pyrogallol and glycine and the subsequent formation of N-polymers which resemble natural humic substances in IR and ESR spectra. The data also reveal that birnessite promotes the deamination and decarboxylation of glycine. The catalytic power of birnessite in the polycondensation of phenols and amino acids and the subsequent formation of humic polymers in soils thus merits attention. Deamination and decarboxylation of amino acids as catalyzed by birnessite may be a new pathway of C turnover and N transformation. Mineralization of N via abiotic processes thus should not be overlooked. Furthermore, oxygen molecules play a vital role in these catalytic reactions.