Construction of an Sc-NiFe-LDH electrocatalyst for highly efficient electrooxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural at industrial current density

Abstract

Renewable electricity-powered electrooxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMFOR) to FDCA offers a green and sustainable approach to producing an essential monomer for bio-polymers, provided that a highly efficient electrocatalyst is present. Herein, we show that the doping of scandium (Sc) into an NiFe-LDH electrocatalyst (Sc-NiFe-LDH) considerably promotes HMFOR by enhancing the formation of high-valence Ni^III–O active sites, facilitating electron transport and HMF adsorption and suppressing the oxygen evolution reaction. In the presence of the Sc-NiFe-LDH electrocatalyst, an FDCA faradaic efficiency and selectivity of 96.5% and 99.5%, respectively, were achieved at a current density of >600 mA cm⁻². The high performance of the Sc-NiFe-LDH electrocatalyst is the best among those of other reported electrocatalysts for this reaction, showing great promise in upgrading biomass to valuable chemicals. This work would inspire further studies on the rational design of novel and efficient electrocatalysts for green and sustainable energy transformations.