Highly efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of furfural to maleic acid over MOF-derived MnCeOx

Abstract

Efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of furfural to maleic acid (MA) is highly attractive, but challenging. Designing robust and cost-effective catalysts is the key for application. Herein, a bimetallic oxide catalyst (MnCeO_x) was constructed by pyrolyzing the corresponding metal–organic framework (MOF) precursor. It was found that the obtained MnCeO_x exhibited superior catalytic performance for electro-oxidation of furfural to produce MA, and the MA yield could reach 67.4% at an applied potential of 1.7 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Systematic investigations revealed that the excellent performance of MnCeO_x originated from its suitable ability of forming surface oxygen vacancies, which could enhance the furfural adsorption on the active interfacial region of MnCeO_x, thereby leading to the high catalytic activity of MnCeO_x.