Upcycling PET Coupled with Energy-Saving H₂ Production from Seawater at Asymmetric Active Center.

Abstract

Electrochemically upcycling polyethylene-terephthalate (PET)-derived ethylene glycol (EG) into high-value glycolic acid (GA) with H₂ production elegantly addresses the dual challenges of clean energy production and plastic recycling. Herein, an electrocatalyst of Ru-(CoCu)₂V₂O₇@Cu₂O is reported, where the Co─O─Ru asymmetric active center triggers the dynamic electronic delocalization is constructed. Such innovative design facilitates the designated bonding of key intermediates for ^*OCCH₂OH and ^*OH at the Ru and Co sites during EG oxidation reactions (EGOR), respectively, while maintaining the integrity of C─C bond. As a result, the Ru-(CoCu)₂V₂O₇@Cu₂O demonstrates remarkable performance for EGOR, requiring only 0.68 V_@RHE to reach 100 mA cm^-2, reducing energy consumption by 60.1% compared to the traditional oxygen evolution. Notably, under industrial conditions (1.0 V_@RHE, ≈600 mA cm^-2), it still maintains a Faraday efficiency of 96.6% and a selectivity of 93.5% for GA, breaking through the performance bottleneck of existing catalytic systems. Implemented at 200 mA cm^-2 in a flow cell, this system converts PET hydrolysate into GA (0.0299 mmol min^-1) and produces H₂ (1.531 mL min^-1) from natural seawater simultaneously, with exceptional stability of <12% decay after 120 h at 100 mA cm^-2. This work establishes an innovative paradigm for synergistic plastic upcycling and green hydrogen production.