Efficient electrochemical oxidation of the biomass platform compound furfural on a Ni_0.48Co_0.36O_0.16 electrode

The use of electrocatalytic technology to replace traditional harsh thermocatalysis in the process of biomass utilization has undoubtedly been an effective means to achieve green and sustainable development. The use of the environmentally friendly method of synthesizing furoic acid (FA) from the biomass platform compound furfural (FF) by electrooxidation was investigated. The surface of the Ni–Co oxide electrode with a Ni content of 0.48 (Ni_0.48Co_0.36O_0.16) obtained by a simple electrodeposition method was covered by a layer of flower-like porous structure, while NiO, Co²⁺, and Co³⁺ coexisted. Moreover, the Ni_0.48Co_0.36O_0.16 electrode exhibited 95.4% FA faraday efficiency and 99.6% selectivity with a substrate concentration of 20 mM at 1.0 V vs. Hg/HgO and 50 °C. In addition, a mechanism for electrooxidation of FF into FA over a Ni–Co oxide electrode was proposed.