Issue 20, 2021

Tuning the selectivity of biomass oxidation over oxygen evolution on NiO–OH electrodes

Abstract

Electrochemical reactions powered by renewable electricity are an important means of reducing the carbon footprint of large-scale chemical processes. Here, we investigate the efficient conversion of biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), an important building block in the polymer and pharmaceutical industries, using a cheap and abundant nickel-based electrocatalyst. We elucidate the key factors for tuning the chemical selectivity for HMF oxidation over the competing oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the catalyst surface. We show that the selectivity for HMF oxidation is enhanced by removing trace impurities of iron species as well as adjusting the composition of the alkali hydroxide electrolyte solution. LiOH solution without iron impurities is more favorable for HMF oxidation, whereas CsOH solution with iron species present is more active for the OER and unfavorable for HMF oxidation. Under optimized conditions, HMF oxidation in 1 M LiOH electrolyte solution without iron (pH 14) achieved 98% faradaic efficiency for the production of FDCA. The principles used in this work can be applied to other electrosynthetic reactions, in particular where the OER is the main competing side reaction.

Graphical abstract: Tuning the selectivity of biomass oxidation over oxygen evolution on NiO–OH electrodes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 Jūn. 2021
Accepted
29 Sept. 2021
First published
29 Sept. 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Green Chem., 2021,23, 8061-8068

Tuning the selectivity of biomass oxidation over oxygen evolution on NiO–OH electrodes

L. Gouda, L. Sévery, T. Moehl, E. Mas-Marzá, P. Adams, F. Fabregat-Santiago and S. D. Tilley, Green Chem., 2021, 23, 8061 DOI: 10.1039/D1GC02031E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements