Premium
Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Oxygenates using Earth‐Abundant Transition‐Metal Nanoparticles under Mild Conditions
Author(s) -
Carroll Kyler J.,
Burger Thomas,
Langenegger Lukas,
Chavez Steven,
Hunt Sean T.,
RománLeshkov Yuriy,
Brushett Fikile R.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201600290
Subject(s) - selectivity , catalysis , hydrodeoxygenation , oxygenate , transition metal , chemistry , nanoparticle , faraday efficiency , inorganic chemistry , electrochemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , nanotechnology , electrode
Electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) is a sustainable pathway for the synthesis of value‐added organic compounds, provided affordable catalysts with high activity, selectivity and durability are developed. Here, we synthesize Cu/C, Ni/C, and CuNi/C nanoparticles and compare their performance to Pt/C, Ru/C, PtRu/C for the ECH of hydroxyacetone, a bio‐derived feedstock surrogate containing a carbonyl and a hydroxyl functional group. The non‐precious metal electrocatalysts show promising conversion‐time behavior, product selectivities, and Faradaic efficiencies. Ni/C forms propylene glycol with a selectivity of 89 % (at 80 % conversion), while Cu/C catalyzes ECH (52 % selectivity) and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO, 48 % selectivity, accounting for evaporation). CuNi/C shows increased turnover frequencies but reduced ECH selectivity (80 % at 80 % conversion) as compared to the Ni/C catalyst. Importantly, stability studies show that the non‐precious metal catalysts do not leach at operating conditions.