Activating Surface Oxygen in Ce/Mo-Doped Ni Oxyhydroxide for Synergistically Enhancing Furfural Oxidation and...

The integration of biomass-platform molecule oxidation with water electrolysis is a promising strategy to reduce energy consumption in hydrogen production and obtain high-value chemicals simultaneously, yet the efficiency of organic oxidation requires further improvement. Herein, we developed a highly efficient Ce, Mo co-doped Ni-based (oxy)hydroxide catalyst, where Mo with high spin state promotes the adsorption of furfural (FA), while Ce activates surface lattice oxygen (O_L), lowering the energy barrier for O_L─OH coupling to form OOH, the key intermediate for high current densities. The catalyst achieves an industrial-grade current density of 1000 mA cm^{- 2} at a remarkably low potential of 1.46 V versus RHE in furfural oxidation, with exceptional selectivity (99.4%) and Faradaic efficiency (97.7%) for furoic acid. When deployed as anode in an anion-exchange membrane reactor, the NiMoCe/NF catalyst sustains a current density of 500 and 1000 mA cm^{- 2} at a cell voltage of only 1.85 and 2.15 V, respectively, surpassing most reported continuous flow electrolyzers limited to 200 mA cm^{- 2}. Moreover, the system exhibits outstanding durability after 200 h of continuous operation. This work provides critical insights into the rational design of catalysts for energy-efficient biomass valorization coupled with industrial hydrogen production.