Abstract
Electrochemical hydrogenation is a challenging technoeconomic process for sustainable liquid fuel production from biomass-derived compounds. In general, half-cell hydrogenation is paired with water oxidation to generate the low economic value of O2 at the anode. Herein, a new strategy for the rational design of Ru/reduced graphene oxide (Ru/RGO) nanocomposites through a cost-effective and straightforward microwave irradiation technique is reported for the first time. The Ru nanoparticles with an average size of 3.5 nm are well anchored into the RGO frameworks with attractive nanostructures to enhance the furfural’s paired electrohydrogenation (ECH) and electrooxidation (ECO) process to achieve high-grade biofuel. Furfural is used as a reactant with the paired electrolyzer to produce furfuryl alcohol and 2-methylfuran at the cathode side. Simultaneously, 2-furic acid and 5-hydroxyfuroic acid along with plenty of H+ and e– are generated at the anode side. Most impressively, the paired electrolyzer induces an extraordinary ECH and ECO of furfural, with the desired production of 2-methylfuran (yield = 91% and faradic efficiency (FE) of 95%) at XFF = 97%, outperforming the ECH half-cell reaction. The mechanisms of the half-cell reaction and paired cell reaction are discussed. Exquisite control of the reaction parameters, optimized strategies, and the yield of individual products are demonstrated. These results show that the Ru/RuO nanocomposite is a potential candidate for biofuel production in industrial sectors.
Highlights
Electrochemical conversion processes have attracted immense interest in sustainable liquid fuel production because they utilize electrical energy to transform biomass-derived compounds into high value-added products.[1−3] In a typical electrolyzer cell, two oxidation and reduction half-reactions are involved in the conversion process
The results demonstrated that 20% of the FF was converted into 10% furfuryl alcohol (FFA) yield and 10% 2-MF yield over microwave-synthesized RGO nanosheets with a carbon balance of 100%
The ECO of FF promotes the ECH of FF toward selective 2-MF production in the paired electrolyzer. This intriguing electrochemical performance suggests that the paired electrode design using Ru/reduced graphene oxide (Ru/RGO) is a promising and costeffective material for the simultaneous reduction and oxidation of FF owing to its higher surface area, electrical conductivity, and higher active metallic catalytic sites toward sustainable liquid fuel production
Summary
Electrochemical conversion processes have attracted immense interest in sustainable liquid fuel production because they utilize electrical energy to transform biomass-derived compounds into high value-added products.[1−3] In a typical electrolyzer cell, two oxidation and reduction half-reactions are involved in the conversion process. The active hydrogen (Hads) required for the electrohydrogenation (ECH) of bio-oil compounds at the cathode is mainly produced at the anode surface by water oxidation (2H2O → 4H+ + 4e− + O2).[4] Mostly, the ECH process is paired with water oxidation to produce a low economic value O2 at the anode surfaces.[5] the ECO process is applied to bio-oil compound oxidation to generate value-added oxygenated products along with abundant H+ and e− discharged at the anode surfaces.[6] The discharged H+ and e− effectively participate in the ECH reactions to enhance the hydrogenated products’ yield.[7] In this context, a paired electrolyzer has been constructed for simultaneous bio-oil compound reduction and oxidation into high value-added chemicals. We believe that the present fabrication strategy can be translated for the rational design of several nanocomposites and effective catalysts to convert FF into valueadded alcohols, fuels, and industrial chemicals
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