A Cu-Ru dual-site decorated photocathode for efficient and selective photoelectrochemical nitrobenzene hydrogenation
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Published on: July 25, 2025
Zehua Liu1,2, Caiyi Liu1,2, Ying-Ao Liu1,2
1School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China. dongliu@ustc.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Photoelectrochemical nitrobenzene hydrogenation offers a promising and sustainable strategy for aniline production under mild conditions. However, the construction of efficient photocathodes remains challenging due to the lack of suitable sites for water activation and nitro group reduction. Here, we designed a Cu-Ru dual-site-decorated Cu2O-based photocathode for efficient and selective photoelectrochemical nitrobenzene hydrogenation to aniline. Benefiting from the Ru-Cu synergy, a superior PEC performance for nitrobenzene hydrogenation was achieved with nitrobenzene conversion efficiency > 90% and the aniline selectivity > 90%. Mechanistic investigations revealed that the Ru species function as sites to accelerate the production of surface reactive hydrogen species from water activation, while Cu species promote the adsorption of the reactant and nitro group reduction, which can greatly facilitate the PEC nitrobenzene hydrogenation process. This work provides a practical strategy for designing an efficient photoelectrochemical system for sustainable aniline synthesis.
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