Mechanistic insights into biomass-based furfural electrooxidation to 5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone over mesoporous polymers

Abstract

Electrooxidation of biomass-derived furfural to high-value-added 5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (HFO) over three spherical mesoporous polymers (meso-PDA, meso-PPy, and meso-PmPD) is reported for the first time. The results indicate that the meso-PDA delivers the best performance with high faradaic efficiency (92.6%), selectivity (96.4%) and conversion (79.6%). The mechanism behind the high performance was revealed.