Electrocatalytic Oxidation of 5‐(Hydroxymethyl)furfural Using High‐Surface‐Area Nickel Boride

作者：Stefan Barwe, Jonas Weidner, Steffen Cychy, Dulce M. Morales, Stefan Dieckhöfer, Dennis Hiltrop, Justus Masa, Martin Muhler, Wolfgang Schuhmann · 发表于：Angewandte Chemie International Edition · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1002/anie.201806298 · 被引用次数：501 · 研究领域：Catalysis for Biomass Conversion、Supercapacitor Materials and Fabrication、Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion

Abstract The electrochemical oxidation of the biorefinery product 5‐(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) to 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), an important platform chemical for the polymer industry, is receiving increasing interest. FDCA‐based polymers such as polyethylene 2,5‐furandicarboxylate (PEF) are sustainable candidates for replacing polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Herein, we report the highly efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of HMF to FDCA, using Ni foam modified with high‐surface‐area nickel boride (Ni x B) as the electrode. Constant potential electrolysis in combination with HPLC revealed a high faradaic efficiency of close to 100 % towards the production of FDCA with a yield of 98.5 %. Operando electrochemistry coupled to ATR‐IR spectroscopy indicated that HMF is oxidized preferentially via 5‐hydroxymethyl‐2‐furancarboxylic acid rather than via 2,5‐diformylfuran, which is in agreement with HPLC results. This study not only reports a low‐cost active electrocatalyst material for the electrochemical oxidation of HMF to FDCA, but additionally provides insight into the reaction pathway.