Issue 10, 2023

Integrating electrocatalytic seawater splitting and biomass upgrading via bifunctional nickel cobalt phosphide nanorods

Abstract

The high overpotential of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the undesirable chlorine evolution reaction (ClER) severely limit the hydrogen production efficiency of seawater electrolysis. The organic electrooxidation reactions, involving C–H bond oxidation with low bond dissociation energy in the rate-limiting step, can possess lower oxidation potential than the OER as well as prevent the ClER. Herein, we demonstrate a strategy for replacing the sluggish OER by thermodynamically favorable biomass oxidation for scaling up the electrolysis of alkaline seawater. A xylose electrooxidation reaction (XOR) holds great promise for superseding the OER in seawater electrolysis, which not only simultaneously produces valuable formic acid and hydrogen, but also improves energy utilization. By utilizing NiCoP metal phosphide as the bifunctional electrode, the XOR shows an apparent overpotential reduction of 290 mV at 100 mA cm−2 as compared with the OER in the alkaline seawater electrolyte. Furthermore, the xylose-assisted seawater electrolysis exhibits a high formic acid selectivity of at least 94.6% and a high hydrogen production rate of 150 mL cm−2. This work provides a universal and an effective pathway for hydrogen production from seawater and biomass upgrading.

Graphical abstract: Integrating electrocatalytic seawater splitting and biomass upgrading via bifunctional nickel cobalt phosphide nanorods

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 Febr. 2023
Accepted
13 Apr. 2023
First published
19 Apr. 2023

Green Chem., 2023,25, 4104-4112

Integrating electrocatalytic seawater splitting and biomass upgrading via bifunctional nickel cobalt phosphide nanorods

Y. Yang, R. Zou, J. Gan, Y. Wei, Z. Chen, X. Li, S. Admassie, Y. Liu and X. Peng, Green Chem., 2023, 25, 4104 DOI: 10.1039/D3GC00684K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements