Efficient electrochemical production of glucaric acid and H<sub>2</sub> via glucose electrolysis.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31937783.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-019-14157-3 and PMC identifier 6959317.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Glucose electrolysis offers a prospect of value-added glucaric acid synthesis and energy-saving hydrogen production from the biomass-based platform molecules. Here we report that nanostructured NiFe oxide (NiFeO<sub>x</sub>) and nitride (NiFeN<sub>x</sub>) catalysts, synthesized from NiFe layered double hydroxide nanosheet arrays on three-dimensional Ni foams, demonstrate a high activity and selectivity towards anodic glucose oxidation. The electrolytic cell assembled with these two catalysts can deliver 100 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> at 1.39 V. A faradaic efficiency of 87% and glucaric acid yield of 83% are obtained from the glucose electrolysis, which takes place via a guluronic acid pathway evidenced by in-situ infrared spectroscopy. A rigorous process model combined with a techno-economic analysis shows that the electrochemical reduction of glucose produces glucaric acid at a 54% lower cost than the current chemical approach. This work suggests that glucose electrolysis is an energy-saving and cost-effective approach for H<sub>2</sub> production and biomass valorization.
Medical subject headings
- Glucaric Acid
- Glucose
- Hydrogen