Anodic Electrocatalysis of Glycerol Oxidation for Hybrid Alkali/Acid Electrolytic Hydrogen Generation

Authors

Xin Feng, Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants Control, National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Heavy Metals Pollutants Control and Resource Utilization and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063, Jiangxi, China;CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
Bo-Wen Liu, Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants Control, National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Heavy Metals Pollutants Control and Resource Utilization and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063, Jiangxi, China;
Ke-Xin Guo, Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants Control, National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Heavy Metals Pollutants Control and Resource Utilization and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063, Jiangxi, China;
Lin-Feng Fan
Gen-Xiang Wang, CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
Su-Qin Ci, Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants Control, National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Heavy Metals Pollutants Control and Resource Utilization and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063, Jiangxi, ChinaFollow
Zhen-Hai Wen, CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, ChinaFollow

Corresponding Author

Zhenhai Wen(wen@fjirsm.ac.cn);
Su-Qin Ci(sqci@nchu.edu.cn)

Abstract

Electrolytic hydrogen production is heavily restricted by high-energy consumption majorly due to the relatively high potential of anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Development of OER-alternative reaction at the anode has been recently proposed as a promising pathway to address the associated issues. In this work, we report a hybrid acid/alkali dual-electrolyte electrolyzer by coupling acidic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) using commercial Pt/C cathode with alkaline Electrocatalytic glycerol oxidation (GOR) which is implemented by developing a nickel foam (NF) supporting Co₃O₄ nanosheets anode that shows low overpotential and high selectivity toward GOR for formate production. The hybrid acid/alkali electrolyzer only requires an applied voltage of 0.55 V to achieve the electrolytic current density of 10 mA·cm^–2 for glycerol conversion into formate at the anode and H₂ production at the cathode with the Faraday efficiency of about 100%. The present work may open a new avenue to maximize the electron utilization efficiency and implement the energy-saving green route for H₂ generation.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Self-supporting electrode; Glycerol oxidation; Electrocatalysis; Acid/alkali dual-electrolyte electrolyzer; Hydrogen generation

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.13208/j.electrochem.2215005

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Date

2023-02-28

Online Available Date

2022-08-31

Revised Date

2022-06-23

Received Date

2022-01-06

Recommended Citation

Xin Feng, Bo-Wen Liu, Ke-Xin Guo, Lin-Feng Fan, Gen-Xiang Wang, Su-Qin Ci, Zhen-Hai Wen. Anodic Electrocatalysis of Glycerol Oxidation for Hybrid Alkali/Acid Electrolytic Hydrogen Generation[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, 2023 , 29(2): 2215005.
DOI: 10.13208/j.electrochem.2215005
Available at: https://jelectrochem.xmu.edu.cn/journal/vol29/iss2/5