Citation: Lan Tang, Ji Chen, Yucheng Wu, Linxin Qi, Xingyi Tian, Ming Li, Wenbin Wang, Rongxing He. Interface effect induced electron-deficient Ni sites for efficient glycerol electrooxidation[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(6): 111001. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111001 shu

Interface effect induced electron-deficient Ni sites for efficient glycerol electrooxidation

Lan Tang ^a ,
Ji Chen ^a ,
Yucheng Wu ^b ,
Linxin Qi ^a ,
Xingyi Tian ^a ,
Ming Li ^a ,
Wenbin Wang ^{a, *,} ,
Rongxing He ^{a, *,}

a.
Key Laboratory of Luminescence Analysis and Molecular Sensing, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
b.
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China

wangwenbin@swu.edu.cn

herx@swu.edu.cn

Received Date: 21 November 2024
Revised Date: 3 February 2025
Accepted Date: 25 February 2025
Available Online: 15 March 2025

Figures(4)

Glycerol oxidation reaction has got lots of attention in an electrocatalytic system of simultaneous hydrogen production and valuable chemicals generation. However, the lack of electrochemical dehydrogenation capability of the active phase is hard to deliver a large current density at a low potential. Furthermore, high selectivity of products is also still far from being completed due to the adsorption-desorption disequilibrium of glycerol and the obtained products, reducing the economic feasibility and limiting the practical application. Here, we propose a strategy to boost the electrocatalytic glycerol oxidation through electron-deficient Ni sites induced by electron transfer of heterojunction interface. Taking Ni₃S₂/Cu₂S as a pre-catalysts, we demonstrate that the electron-deficient Ni site can favor the dehydrogenation of the active phase to facilitate the rapid transformation of Ni²⁺/Ni³⁺ in the electrooxidation process of glycerol. Furthermore, electron deficient Ni sites balance competitive adsorption of active species, improving the activity and selectivity of glycerol oxidation. As expected, the electrocatalysts exhibit selectivity of 93.3% for formate at the 1.35 V, and require only 1.45 V to drive an industrial-level current densities of 600 mA/cm². This work provides valuable insights into constructing highly active and selective electrocatalysts for organic electrosynthesis in hybrid water electrolysis.
- Electron-deficient site,
- Heterojunction interface,
- Formate,
- Glycerol electrooxidation,
- High selectivity
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