High Oxidation State V-O-Co Structure Promotes the Role of V-^*O Intermediates in Efficient HMF Oxidation

Designing heterometallic oxygen-bridge structure (M1-O-M2) to achieve the efficient and stable electrochemical conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has become an important approach to address the rapid consumption of fossil fuels and mitigate white pollution. However, designing effective M1-O-M2 structures and elucidating their catalytic mechanisms remains a key challenge in this field. In this study, a high oxidation state V-O-Co structure is constructed by doping V into reconstructed CoOOH, which promotes the formation of the active intermediate V-^*O. The catalyst achieves a low HMF oxidation onset potential of 1.13 V vs. RHE, the HMF conversion rate reaches 99.6%, the FDCA selectivity reaches 97.8%, and the Faradaic efficiency reaches 97.0% at an applied potential of 1.30 V vs. RHE. Based on this novel design strategy, V-doped Ni₂P/NF is further constructed, which also forms the active intermediate V-^*O, validating the effectiveness of this strategy. Notably, the oxidation state-controlled V-O-Co structure demonstrates excellent catalytic performance in promoting the efficient conversion of various organic compounds (such as glycerol, glucose, methanol, etc.) into high-value chemicals, providing a precedent for the development of single hetero-oxygen-bridge structures for the effective conversion of various high-value compounds.