In‐situ Electrochemical Transformed Cu Oxide from Cu Sulfide for Efficient Upgrading of Biomass Derived 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural in Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer
Heng‐Fan Zhao, Yu‐Ting Yue, Yi‐Lin Fan, Ji‐Xiang Wang, Wenhui Li, Feng Wei, Min Liu, YU Yan-hua, Wangting Lu, Geng Zhang
Abstract
Abstract The electrochemical transformation of biomass to high value‐added products is attractive. Herein, Cu sulfide‐mediated in‐situ synthesis of Cu oxide was achieved for efficient electro‐oxidation of biomass derived 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The copper foam‐supported Cu sulfide (Cu−S/CF) was in‐situ converted to Cu oxide during the electro‐oxidation process. The in‐situ formed Cu oxide presented high HMF conversion, FDCA yield, and faradaic efficiency in 1 m KOH with HMF concentration up to 100 m m . The oxidation of HMF on Cu oxide started with the formation of high‐valence Cu species with the assistance of OH − , which then oxidized HMF spontaneously. An anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer with Cu−S/CF as the anode was assembled to continuously produce FDCA with H 2 generation at the cathode. The AEM electrolyzer ran stably for 60 h with FDCA content higher than 85 % at a cell voltage between 1.50 and 1.60 V.