Tuneable C3 product selectivity of glycerol electrooxidation on cubic and dendritic Pt nanocatalysts

Glycerol, being an abundant and cheap by-product of biodiesel production, has emerged as a raw material that can be recycled into value-added compounds. In the present study, Pt nanoparticles of cubic (Pt_CUBE) and dendritic (Pt_DEND) morphologies were investigated as catalysts for the glycerol electrooxidation reaction (GEOR) at 20 °C. To optimise the electrocatalytic performance and GEOR selectivity towards three-carbon (C3) products, namely lactate, glycerate, and tartronate, the effects of morphology, electrolyte composition, and applied potential were studied. At low glycerol concentrations, C-C bond cleavage was more favoured, especially on Pt_DEND. Both Pt_CUBE and Pt_DEND showed high C3 product selectivity up to 91% at 0.67 V vs. RHE, with lactate reaching a maximum selectivity of 68% on Pt_CUBE, which also exhibited the best mass and specific activities compared to Pt_DEND.