Corrosion-induced CoCUMW/CF electrodes for HMF to BHMF electrodes. Credit: Nimte
The researchers have used metal corrosion to prepare high-performance electrodes, enabling efficient and cost-effective upgrades of bio-based 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Their research is published in Chemical Catalysts.
Corrosion is a common phenomenon that can lead to material failure and economic losses. However, researchers are investigating the potential for beneficial applications, particularly in biomass upgrades.
Biomass is one of the most abundant renewable resources on the planet. Catalytic conversion allows biomass to be upgraded to fuels and chemicals, and can replace traditional fossil resources, playing an important role in achieving “peak carbon dioxide release and carbon neutrality.” .
Inspired by the idea of ”turning damage into profits,” the research team combined voluntary metal corrosion with efficient biomass upgrades. They fabricated Cocu Microwire arrays in copper foam (Cocumw/cf) using cobalt ion-enhanced corrosion induction.
The COCUMW/CF electrode allows for efficient electrochemical reductions in HMF to 2,5-BIS (hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF). Chemicals by simple methods.
Furthermore, the prepared CoCUMW/CF electrodes showed a BHMF yield of 85.4% with a prominent HMF conversion rate of 95.7% and a potential of -0.5 V. .
In particular, the activation energy of HMF electrocatalytic reduction was 16.6±2.5 kJ·mol-1, which was significantly lower than that of the thermal catalyst.
In this study, density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that CoCumw/CF electrodes reduce free energy barriers for both early and subsequent hydrogenation steps of HMF. This reduction in energy barriers increases the catalytic performance and selectivity of BHMF production.
This study challenges traditional views on corrosion phenomena and allows for highly efficient electrochemical hydrogenation using copper-based electrocatalysts to upgrade biomass at a very low cost. This advancement has great potential to accelerate HMF electrohydrogenation applications.
The study was led by Professor Zhang Jian of Ningbo Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Details: Bin Zhu et al, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, Corrosion-induced COCU microwire array for efficient electric shock of chemical catalysts (2025). doi:10.1016/j.checat.2024.101259
Provided by the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Quote: Corrosion-inducing electrodes improve biomass conversion efficiency (2025, February 10th) obtained from https://news/2025-02 on February 10th, 2025.
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