Rh-dispersed Cu nanowire catalyst for boosting electrocatalytic hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

Wenfei Zhang; Yanbin Qi; Yuan Zhao; Wangxin Ge; Lei Dong; Jianhua Shen; Hongliang Jiang; Chunzhong Li

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2023.07.036

Rh-dispersed Cu nanowire catalyst for boosting electrocatalytic hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

Sci Bull (Beijing). 2023 Oct 15;68(19):2190-2199. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.07.036. Epub 2023 Jul 25.

Authors

Wenfei Zhang¹, Yanbin Qi², Yuan Zhao³, Wangxin Ge², Lei Dong³, Jianhua Shen⁴, Hongliang Jiang⁵, Chunzhong Li⁶

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
² Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
³ Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China. Electronic address: jianhuashen@ecust.edu.cn.
⁵ Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China. Electronic address: jhlworld@ecust.edu.cn.
⁶ Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China. Electronic address: czli@ecust.edu.cn.

PMID: 37580202
DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.07.036

Abstract

Electrocatalytic conversion of biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) presents a compelling strategy for the production of premium chemicals via the utilization of renewable energy sources. Exploring efficient catalytic systems to obtain highly selective BHMF has remained a giant challenge. A design strategy is proposed here to regulate active hydrogen (H_ads) production in rhodium (Rh) nanoparticles grown on Cu nanowires (RhCu NWs) catalyst, which achieves a faradaic efficiency (FE) of 92.6% in the electrocatalytic reduction of HMF to BHMF at -20 mA cm^-2 with no degradation in performance after 8 cycles. Kinetic investigations and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy reveal that the incorporation of Rh accelerates the water dissociation and facilitates the generation of H_ads. In situ attenuated total reflection surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) further demonstrates that the Rh component boosts the proportion of ordered weakly hydrogen-bonded water molecules on the catalyst surface, which is much easier to dissociate. The construction of an interfacial H_ads-rich environment promotes the HMF intermediates binding with H_ads to BMHF, thereby suppressing the formation of undesired dimers. This work demonstrates the promise of altering the interfacial water environment as a strategy to boost the electrosynthetic properties of biomass-derived products toward value-added outcomes.

Keywords: Biomass; Electrocatalysis; Hydrogenation; Value-added products; Water dissociation.