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Updated: Feb 22, 2026
Hydrogen Production and Utilization in a Membrane Reactor
Published on: March 10, 2023
Proton Sponge Tailoring of Interfacial H-Bond Networks Enables Seawater Electrosynthesis for Concomitant Alkenol and
Ruidong Yang1, Ningxin Xiao1, Jiabing Geng1
1State Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Synthesis and Conversion, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Science and Engineering for Catalysts, College of Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Seawater electrolysis provides a sustainable hydrogen source for electrocatalytic semi-hydrogenation (ECSH) of alkynols, but it suffers from severe hydrogen evolution and a lack of effective interfacial management. Here, we construct a proton sponge (1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene) modified PdIn intermetallic metallene (Pd1In1ene@DMAN). In situ FTIR and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations reveal that this modification disrupts the hydrogen-bond network of interfacial water molecules, while DFT calculations indicate facilitated water dissociation and enhanced generation of active hydrogen species. The Pd1In1ene@DMAN achieves a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 94.43% for 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBE) production at -100 mA cm-2, a dramatic increase from the 44.93% attained by the Pd1In1ene, with an operational stability over 500 h. In a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) electrolyzer, it enables the efficient conversion of alkynol to alkenol at a current of 2 A, delivering a FE of 84.16%, a selectivity of 98.54% toward MBE, and excellent stability for up to 200 h. Concurrently, the cathodically generated OH- selectively precipitates Mg2+ as high-purity Mg(OH)2 by precise pH control, enabling the co-production of value-added MBE and Mg(OH)2. This work establishes a seawater-based electrochemical system, which regulates the hydrogen bond microenvironment through molecular interface engineering, providing a new strategy for efficient electrochemical hydrogenation in complex media.
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