posted on 2021-12-27, 17:42authored byPei Zhu, Yongli Shen, Linxiu Dai, Qiuyuan Yu, Zhi-Ming Zhang, Changhua An
Generating
hydrogen by water electrolysis is a promising and sustainable
approach to the production of a green energy carrier, but the sluggish
kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at anode leads to
a high working potential. Replacing OER with electro-oxidation of
organics driven at a low potential offers an effective way to accelerate
the sluggish anode reaction, and thus increase hydrogen evolution
in water-splitting. Herein, we have prepared a Ru nanoparticles on
N-doped carbon nanotubes (Ru-NPs@NCNTs) to implement electro-oxidation
of benzyl alcohol toward reducing the anodic potential in watersplitting.
The potential of the anode reaction is remarkably decreased from 1.76
to 1.19 V vs RHE at a current density of 10 mA cm–2 with the assistance of a Ru-NPs catalyst. Furthermore, 100% selectivity
and 95% yield of valuable benzaldehyde were achieved simultaneously.
The Ru-NPs also exhibits good durability and wide applicability to
other alcohols. The high performance of Ru-NPs is mainly attributed
to the unique horizontal adsorption configuration of benzyl alcohol
with surface atoms of the catalyst, shortening the distance between
the •OH group and Ru atoms, and increasing the activation
rate of the •OH group. This work presents a feasible
strategy to boost water-splitting performance and concurrently produce
value-added organics under mild conditions.