Ce doped NiOOH generated through electrocatalytic self-reconstruction of Ce doped Ni-MOF for efficient electro-oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

Abstract

In this study, nickel foam supported Ce doped NiOOH nanosheets was obtained by electrocatalytic self-reconstruction of Ce doped Ni-BDC (BDC stands for terephthalic acid linker) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Compared to others, NiCe(10%)-MOF after cyclic voltammetry (CV) activation (named NiCe(10%)-MOF-CV) showed better performance in both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural oxidation reaction (HMFOR) than Ni-MOF-CV. It exhibited more satisfactory current density (153.15 mA cm-2) than Ni-MOF-CV (87.7 mA cm-2) in HMFOR at 1.5 VRHE. After 20 successive cycles, it can still exhibit satisfied HMF conversion rate (100%), 2,5-furanodicarboxylic acid (FDCA) yield (98.6%) and Faradaic efficiency (99.8%) at 1.44 VRHE. The excellent HMFOR performance of NiCe(10%)-MOF-CV is attributed to the strong electron interaction between Ce and Ni, enhanced adsorption of OH* and HMF, reduced energy barrier of the rate-determining step. Finally, HMFOR mechanism was also explored, hoping to provide guidance for the design of electrocatalysts in the future.