Issue 8, 2024

Sustainable electrochemical synthesis of dry formaldehyde from anhydrous methanol

Abstract

Formaldehyde is a platform chemical used for example in the syntheses of polymers and complex molecules. The current formaldehyde synthesis relies on high temperatures to produce an aqueous solution, which requires energy intensive water removal for its use as a C1 building block. In this work, we report the successful electrification of the direct synthesis of anhydrous formaldehyde from methanol. Sustainable formaldehyde is produced with Faraday efficiencies of 80% in an H-cell and even up to 90% and elevated current densities in a scaled-up flow reactor. Comparing different reaction conditions, we furthermore show an impact of the current density and electrolyte concentration on the prevalent reaction mechanism. Our study demonstrates a selective and efficient electrochemical synthesis of dry formaldehyde at relevant scales, paving the way for green industrial production processes.

Graphical abstract: Sustainable electrochemical synthesis of dry formaldehyde from anhydrous methanol

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Dec 2023
Accepted
05 Mar 2024
First published
08 Mar 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Green Chem., 2024,26, 4645-4652

Sustainable electrochemical synthesis of dry formaldehyde from anhydrous methanol

F. Schwarz, E. Larenz and A. K. Mechler, Green Chem., 2024, 26, 4645 DOI: 10.1039/D3GC04978G

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