Electrochemical epoxidation enhanced by C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> activation and hydroxyl generation at the Ag/SnO<sub>2</sub> interface.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39988606.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-57223-9 and PMC identifier 11847926.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Direct electrochemical ethylene (C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>) epoxidation with water (H<sub>2</sub>O) represents a promising approach for the production of value-added ethylene oxide (EO) in a sustainable way. However, the activity remains limited due to the sluggish activation of C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> and the stiff formation of *OH intermediate. This paper describes the design of a Ag/SnO<sub>2</sub> electrocatalyst to achieve efficient electrochemical C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> epoxidation with a high faradaic efficiency of 39.4% for EO and a high selectivity of 91.5% at 25 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> in a membrane electrode assembly. Results of in situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectra characterizations and computational calculations reveal that the Ag/SnO<sub>2</sub> interface promotes C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> adsorption and activation to obtain *C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>. Moreover, electrophilic *OH is generated on the catalyst surface through H<sub>2</sub>O dissociation, which further reacts with *C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> to facilitate the formation of *C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>OH, contributing to the enhanced electrochemical epoxidation activity. This work would provide general guidance for designing catalysts for electrochemical olefin epoxidation through interface engineering.