sc9b07041_si_001.pdf (1.66 MB)
Performance of Base and Noble Metals for Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Bio-Oil-Derived Oxygenated Compounds
journal contribution
posted on 2020-03-09, 15:34 authored by Evan Andrews, Juan A. Lopez-Ruiz, Jonathan D. Egbert, Katherine Koh, Udishnu Sanyal, Miao Song, Dongsheng Li, Abhijeet J. Karkamkar, Miroslaw A. Derewinski, Johnathan Holladay, Oliver Y. Gutiérrez, Jamie D. HolladayElectrocatalytic
hydrogenation is a particularly attractive approach
for converting the most unstable compounds in biogenic feedstocks
at ambient conditions without external H2. Here, we synthesized
a variety of carbon-supported transition metal catalysts and characterized
their activity for the electrocatalytic hydrogenation of a series
of model compounds and pyrolysis bio-oil. Carbonyl compounds, especially
aromatic aldehydes, such as furfural and benzaldehyde, are particularly
inclined to hydrogenation driven by an applied current. This was verified
with pure solutions of the model compounds and with pyrolysis bio-oil,
where we achieved stable and steady continuous operation on Pd. When
optimal catalyst composition was chosen, the conversion of benzaldehyde
shifted from alcohol production (e.g., on Pd and Cu) to dimerization
(e.g., on Co, Ni, and Zn). Pd and Cu were shown to offer the best
compromise between reaction rates and efficiency although, in general,
base metals offer similar conversions but better efficiencies than
noble metals. Thus, the present work offers foundational results and
guidelines for choosing the optimal metal catalyst and the applied
potential for processing organic feedstocks as a function of its composition.