Coproduction of Glycolic Acid and Hydrogen by Electroreforming Ethylene Glycol Using Palladium–Copper Hydride Hyperbranched Nanocrystals

Glycolic acid is used as a high-value-added chemical in a wide range of biological, chemical, and medical applications, and current large-scale production of glycolic acid usually suffers from harsh synthesis conditions and low selectivity. In this work, we report the coproduction of glycolic acid and hydrogen by electroreforming ethylene glycol using palladium–copper hydrides with hyperbranched nanocrystals (PdCu-H HNCs) as highly active electrocatalysts. The anodic ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) requires only a low overpotential of 0.808 V at 100 mA cm–2. In a two-electrode system, PdCu-H HNCs show a low voltage of 0.824 V at 100 mA cm–2 for continuous production of glycolic acid and H2, with maximum Faraday efficiencies of 93% and nearly 100%, respectively. This work highlights the concurrent production of high-value glycolic acid and hydrogen with low energy consumption using palladium hydride-based electrocatalysts.