Boosting furfural oxidation with CuWCe trimetal-doped Ni3S2 catalysts: Engineering in stabilizing the metastable phase for electrocatalysis

Biomass-derived molecules, as renewable sources of organic carbon, are essential for selectively transforming into valuable chemicals and fuels, aiding in the mitigation of the energy dilemma brought on by the depletion of traditional fossil fuels. Owing to its unique chemical structure, furfural (FFR) is widely regarded as a key platform molecule derived from biomass, capable of being converted into various valuable chemicals, such as 2-furoic acid (2-FA). In this study, we design a CuWCe trimetal-doped Ni₃S₂ thin-film electrocatalyst that incorporates multivalent cations (Cu + /Cu 2+ , W 5+ /W 6+ , and Ce 3+ ) to enhance the economic feasibility of electrocatalytic FFR conversion to 2-FA for commercial use. We successfully synthesized an in situ grown nanoflower-like CuWCe-2 electrocatalytic material using a simple hydrothermal method. The catalyst achieved an FFR conversion efficiency of 79.8% to 2-FA, with a selectivity of 89.6%, at an FFR initial concentration of 35   mM. The 2-FA was produced at a high yield rate of 876 μmol·cm -2 ·h -1 and a faradaic efficiency (FE) of 90.1% at 1.45   V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in an H-cell setup.