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Electrochemical Synthesis of Glycine from Oxalic Acid and Nitrate
Author(s) -
Kim Jeong Eun,
Jang Jun Ho,
Lee Kyu Min,
Balamurugan Mani,
Jo Young In,
Lee Moo Young,
Choi Seungwoo,
Im Sang Won,
Nam Ki Tae
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202108352
Subject(s) - oxalic acid , nitrate , reagent , electrochemistry , chemistry , aqueous solution , supporting electrolyte , glycine , inorganic chemistry , electrolyte , nitrogen , electrode , organic chemistry , amino acid , biochemistry
In manufacturing C−N bond‐containing compounds, it is an important challenge to alternate the conventional methodologies that utilize reactive substrates, toxic reagents, and organic solvents. In this study, we developed an electrochemical method to synthesize a C−N bond‐containing molecule avoiding the use of cyanides and amines by harnessing nitrate (NO 3 − ) as a nitrogen source in an aqueous electrolyte. In addition, we utilized oxalic acid as a carbon source, which can be obtained from electrochemical conversion of CO 2. Thus, our approach can provide a route for the utilization of anthropogenic CO 2 and nitrate wastes, which cause serious environmental problems including global warming and eutrophication. Interestingly, the coreduction of oxalic acid and nitrate generated reactive intermediates, which led to C−N bond formation followed by further reduction to an amino acid, namely, glycine. By carefully controlling this multireduction process with a fabricated Cu–Hg electrode, we demonstrated the efficient production of glycine with a faradaic efficiency (F.E.) of up to 43.1 % at −1.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl (current density≈90 mA cm −2 ).