Electrocatalytic hydrodeoxygenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-dimethylfuran over POx modified Cu electrocatalysts: the promoting role of POx

Abstract

Conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) by electrocatalysis is significant but challenging. A Cu–PO_x catalyst (CuP-CF-350-H), synthesized by simple electrodeposition, shows high efficiency for C–O cleavage by suppressing the side reaction of aldehyde hydrogenation, and achieves 63.1% DMF selectivity at 92.0% HMF conversion. The synergistic presence of electron-deficient Cu sites and PO_x species provides a large number of active sites for proton stabilization and HMF adsorption, as well as the acidic sites for C–O cleavage. In addition, the oxygen-deficient PO_x species in the catalyst promotes the spillover of H_ads (H*) from Cu sites to PO_x, reduces the surface H* coverage, and provides a sufficient number of protons for hydrodeoxygenation.