Nitrogen modulated NiMoO4 with enhanced activity for the electrochemical oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid

Abstract

Electrocatalytic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is a promising and green process, which urgently demands high-performance catalysts. In this work, a nitrogen-modulated NiMoO₄ growth on Ni foam (N-NiMoO₄/NF) is prepared via the treatment of NiMoO₄ in 1% NH₃ at 500 °C. Compared with NiMoO₄, the nitrogen-modulated NiMoO₄ promotes electro-oxidation of HMF to FDCA and exhibits almost 100% HMF conversion, 97% FDCA yield, and 91% faradaic efficiency. N-NiMoO₄ has a higher electrochemical surface area and lower charge transfer resistance than NiMoO₄, which enhances the activity of the catalyst for electrocatalytic oxidation of HMF to FDCA. This work gives enlightenment on the nitrogen modulation method to tune the activity of electrocatalysts for biomass refineries.