Electrocatalytic Upcycling of Biomass and Plastic Wastes to Biodegradable Polymer Monomers and Hydrogen Fuel at High Current Densities

作者：Yifan Yan, Hua Zhou, Simin Xu, Jiangrong Yang, Pengjie Hao, Cai Xi, Yue Ren, Ming Xu, Xianggui Kong, Mingfei Shao, Zhenhua Li, Haohong Duan · 发表于：Journal of the American Chemical Society · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1021/jacs.2c11861 · 被引用次数：543 · 研究领域：Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion、Advanced battery technologies research、Supercapacitor Materials and Fabrication

Transformation of biomass and plastic wastes to value-added chemicals and fuels is considered an upcycling process that is beneficial to resource utilization. Electrocatalysis offers a sustainable approach; however, it remains a huge challenge to increase the current density and deliver market-demanded chemicals with high selectivity. Herein, we demonstrate an electrocatalytic strategy for upcycling glycerol (from biodiesel byproduct) to lactic acid and ethylene glycol (from polyethylene terephthalate waste) to glycolic acid, with both products being as valuable monomers for biodegradable polymer production. By using a nickel hydroxide-supported gold electrocatalyst (Au/Ni(OH) 2 ), we achieve high selectivities of lactic acid and glycolic acid (77 and 91%, respectively) with high current densities at moderate potentials (317.7 mA/cm 2 at 0.95 V vs RHE and 326.2 mA/cm 2 at 1.15 V vs RHE, respectively). We reveal that glycerol and ethylene glycol can be enriched at the Au/Ni(OH) 2 interface through their adjacent hydroxyl groups, substantially increasing local concentrations and thus high current densities. As a proof of concept, we employed a membrane-free flow electrolyzer for upcycling triglyceride and PET bottles, attaining 11.2 g of lactic acid coupled with 9.3 L of H 2 and 13.7 g of glycolic acid coupled with 9.4 L of H 2, respectively, revealing the potential of coproduction of valuable chemicals and H 2 fuel from wastes in a sustainable fashion.