Boosting cathodic hydrogen evolution with furfuryl alcohol oxidation as the anodic half-reaction for hybrid water splitting. (10th February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xia, Hehuan; Xiang, Daili; Liu, Fushan; Gong, Liu; Wang, Leichen; Du, Jialei; Liu, Hong
• Is Part Of: Electrochimica acta. Volume 441(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-02-10
• Subjects: Hybrid water electrolysis -- Biomass upgradation -- Hydrogen production -- Integrated electrode -- Microwave-assisted synthesis; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; Electrochemistry, Industrial -- Periodicals; 541.37
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2022.141736
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-4686

Abstract

Highlights: Furfuryl alcohol is employed as the anodic substrate to construct the hybrid water splitting system. The Cu2 Co(OH)x /NF is utilized as the integrated anodic electrode, and it is facilely prepared via microwave-assisted heating method. Fabricated catalyst depicts 219 mV lower onset potential for furfuryl alcohol oxidation than OER at 10 mA cm –2 . Hydrogen generation at low electric energy consumption coupled with value-added anodic product generation can be achieved with this hybrid water splitting system. The reasons for selection of furfuryl alcohol oxidation as the substitute half-reaction of OER are explained in detail. Abstract: Both anode feedstock and integrated electrodes are highly significant for the development of hybrid water electrolysis technology. Herein, biomass-derived furfuryl alcohol is selected as the anode feedstock, mainly because it contains no base-labile group (e.g., -CHO) and does not spontaneously undergo a Cannizzaro-type transformation under alkaline conditions. Bimetallic hydroxide nanowire arrays with nickel foam as the substrate (denoted Cu2 Co(OH)x /NF) are designed and readily prepared via a microwave-assisted heating method. Then, Cu2 Co(OH)x /NF is used as an integrated electrode for electrocatalytic furfuryl alcohol oxidation to value-added furoic acid with enhanced hydrogen production in 1.0 M NaOH. The input potential is reduced by approximately 219 mV when the oxygen evolution reaction is replaced by furfuryl alcohol oxidation to drive a current density of 10 mA cm −2 . Moreover, the as-obtained electrode can be recycled several times without an obvious decline in carboxylate yield or Faradaic efficiency. Graphical abstract: Image, graphical abstract