Chloride-Promoted Dynamic Reconstruction of CoOOH for Enhanced Ethylene Glycol Electrooxidation

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Plastic waste valorization is crucial for sustainability.
• Electrochemical upgrading of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) offers a route to value-added chemicals and decarbonization.
• Efficient catalysts are needed for selective oxidation during ethylene glycol electrooxidation reaction (EGOR).

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel and efficient electrocatalyst for the EGOR of PET-derived ethylene glycol.
• To investigate the in situ reconstruction mechanism of the catalyst.
• To assess the catalyst's performance in terms of activity, selectivity, and stability.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a chlorine-doped cobalt hydroxide pre-catalyst on a nickel foam substrate (Co(OH)2-Cl/NF).
• Electrochemical activation to induce in situ reconstruction into a highly active EGOR catalyst (CoOOH-VCl/NF).
• Electrochemical testing of the catalyst for EGOR, including current density, cell voltage, and Faradaic efficiency measurements.

Main Results:

• The reconstructed catalyst (CoOOH-VCl/NF) achieved a current density of 400 mA cm-2 at 1.37 V versus RHE.
• High Faradaic efficiency of 96.9% for formate generation was observed.
• The catalyst demonstrated stable performance for over 100 hours of continuous operation.

Conclusions:

• The developed CoOOH-VCl/NF catalyst is highly efficient and stable for EGOR.
• The 'Cl- etching-induced material dynamic reconstruction' strategy is effective for catalyst design.
• This work advances plastic waste utilization and green hydrogen production.