Decoupled Biomass Electrooxidation Over E-Waste-Derived Au Enables Low-Voltage H2 and Scalable FDCA Production

19/10/2026

AI Summary

E-waste derived nanostructured Au catalyst fabricated via corrosion-template-assisted electrodeposition on Co(OH)2/Ni foam, producing tailored polycrystalline Au with greatly enlarged electrochemically active surface area.
Au electrode selectively oxidises HMF aldehyde to 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furoic acid at potentials well below OER, enabling concurrent anodic hydrogen evolution at low cell voltage.
Tandem electrolyser decouples low- and high-potential oxidations, enabling stepwise HMF to FDCA conversion with lower overall energy and scalable co-production of H2 and FDCA.

Adv Mater. 2026 Oct 19:e75442. doi: 10.1002/adma.75442. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) constitutes a major energetic bottleneck in electrochemical hydrogen production. Replacing OER with low-potential organic oxidation provides an effective route to reduce cell voltage while enabling value-added chemical synthesis. Here, a nanostructured Au electrocatalyst is developed from recycled electronic waste via a corrosion-template-assisted electrodeposition strategy. Co(OH)₂ nanoarrays grown on nickel foam act as a sacrificial template to regulate galvanic displacement between chloride-coordinated Au(III) species and metallic Ni, inducing polycrystalline Au nucleation with tailored surface structures. Subsequent electrodeposition precisely controls Au size and dispersion, resulting in a substantially enlarged electrochemically active surface area. In alkaline media, the Au electrode selectively drives aldehyde oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furoic acid at potentials well below those required for OER, while enabling concurrent anodic hydrogen evolution and stable low-voltage bipolar hydrogen production. In a flow-electrolysis configuration, current densities of ∼0.6 A cm^-2 are sustained at a low cell voltage of ∼1.2 V for over 200 h. By decoupling low-potential aldehyde oxidation from high-potential deep oxidation in a tandem electrolyzer, stepwise electrochemical upgrading from HMF to FDCA is achieved with reduced overall energy input. This work establishes a scalable electrochemical platform that integrates low-voltage hydrogen production with high-value biomass conversion.

PMID:42895242 | DOI:10.1002/adma.75442

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