Recent Advances of the Electrochemical Hydrogenation of Biofuels and Chemicals from Furfural

作者：Huiyi Liang, Ke Liu, Xinghua Zhang, Qi Zhang, Lungang Chen, Yubao Chen, Xiuzheng Zhuang, Longlong Ma · 发表于：Energies · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3390/en18123075 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Catalysis for Biomass Conversion、Catalysis and Hydrodesulfurization Studies、Biofuel production and bioconversion

With increasing energy demand and depletion of fossil fuels, the search for renewable energy sources has become imperative. Among them, biomass energy has attracted significant attention as it is clean, renewable, and abundant. This review summarizes recent advances in the electroreduction of the biomass-derived platform compound furfural (FF) for producing high-value fuels and chemicals. First, the principles and mechanisms of electrocatalysis are introduced, followed by a detailed analysis of reaction pathways for electrocatalytic hydrogenation, hydrogenolysis, and dimerization. Subsequently, the review highlights the research progress on the electrochemical reduction of FF to hydrofuroin (HDF, a precursor for jet fuel), analyzing its reaction mechanisms and summarizing the effects of catalytic materials and reaction conditions on product selectivity and faradaic efficiency. Additionally, it provides an overview of catalyst selection for both hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis processes. Studies indicate that Cu-based catalysts exhibit superior performance in hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis, with the latter being more favorable under low pH. In contrast, metal-doped carbon catalysts demonstrate enhanced activity in dimerization reactions. Reaction conditions also significantly influence product distribution, with lower reduction potentials generally favoring dimerization. Finally, the challenges and future directions in FF electroreduction are discussed, including the need f...