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Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Guaiacol in Diverse Electrolytes Using a Stirred Slurry Reactor
Yanuar Philip Wijaya1,2, Tobias Grossmann-Neuhaeusler3, Robertus Dhimas Dhewangga Putra1,2
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
Abstract:
Electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) of guaiacol was performed in a stirred slurry electrochemical reactor (SSER) using 5 wt % Pt/C catalyst in the cathode compartment. Different pairs of acid (H2 SO4 ), neutral (NaCl), and alkaline (NaOH) catholyte-anolyte combinations separated by a Nafion® 117 cation exchange membrane, were investigated by galvanostatic and potentiostatic electrolysis to probe the electrolyte and proton concentration effect on guaiacol conversion, product distribution, and Faradaic efficiency. The acid-acid and neutral-acid pairs were found to be the most effective. In the case of the neutral-acid pair, proton diffusion and migration through the membrane from the anolyte to the catholyte supplies the protons required for ECH. Typically, the two major hydrogenation products were cyclohexanol and 2-methoxycyclohexanol. However, ECH at constant cathode superficial current density (-182 mA cm-2 ) and higher temperature (i.e., 60 °C) favored a pathway leading mainly to cyclohexanone. The guaiacol conversion routes were affected by temperature- and cathode potential-dependent surface coverage of adsorbed hydrogen radicals generated through electroreduction of protons.
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