Self‐Powered System for H2 Production and Biomass Upgrading

Abstract

AbstractHydrazine‐oxidation‐assisted self‐powered H2 generation system greatly expands the applicability of hydrogen production technology. However, the high cost of hydrazine greatly impedes the widespread adoption of hydrazine‐contained energy systems for large‐scale H2 production. Besides, the gaseous products of hydrazine splitting, comprising a mixture of H2 and N2, necessitate energy‐intensive downstream separation. Here, taking advantage of a low‐potential furfural oxidation reaction (FOR) on the Cu electrode, a self‐powered H2 production system by integrating a direct furfural fuel cell (DFFC) and a bipolar H2 production electrolyser is reported. Ru‐dispersed Cu nanowire with remarkable catalytic activity is developed as a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst to couple with the FOR. The HER‐FOR electrolyzer achieves bipolar H2 production with an apparent 200% Faradaic efficiency, attaining a current density of 100 mA cm−2 with a low cell voltage of 0.43 V. The DFFC displays an open circuit potential of 0.969 V and a peak power density up to 193 mW cm−2. Inspired by the bipolar H2 production that eliminates the gas separation, a self‐powered system utilizing furfural as the sole consumable, which yields a pure H2 production rate of 6 mmol h−1 m−2 is demonstrated. This work provides a new avenue for constructing self‐powered H2 production systems.