Synergistic lattice strain and electronic modulation in PdCu nanowires to boost waste plastics upcycling

PdCu nanowires were prepared by a facile one-pot wet chemical method. • The catalysts possess an ultrathin diameter and remarkable compressive strain. • The catalysts exhibit excellent performance for PET to GA conversion. • Lattice strain and electronic modulation synergistically enhance the catalytic performance. Electrocatalytic upgrading of waste PET-derived ethylene glycol (EG) to glycolic acid (GA) is crucial for the efficient circular utilization of plastics, yet suffers from low activity and poor selectivity. In this work, PdCu nanowires (PdCu NWs) were controllably synthesized as a highly efficient catalyst for the electrocatalytic upcycling of PET into GA, with a high Faradaic efficiency of 94.4% for GA and a GA selectivity of 93.0% at 0.65 V (vs. RHE), as well as excellent stability, significantly superior to Pd NWs and commercial Pd Black. Electrochemical tests associated with in situ electrochemical attenuated total reflection-surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy reveal that PdCu NWs significantly enhance the adsorption of hydroxide (OH − ) species, which promotes the generation of the key intermediate *OH, thereby accelerating the selective oxidation of PET-derived EG to GA. DFT calculations demonstrate that the introduction of Cu to Pd induces significant compressive strain and electronic effects, which enhance the adsorption of *OH species on the catalyst surface, lower the activation energy barrier of the rate-determining step, and thus accelerate the reaction kinetics. Ultrathin PdCu nanowires (PdCu NWs), featuring exclusive compressive strain and electronic effects, are demonstrated as a highly active and selective electrocatalyst for upcycling PET-derived ethylene glycol to glycolic acid. Download: Download high-res image (281KB) Download: Download full-size image