Efficient Electrocatalytic Upgrading of Furan-Based Biomass: Key Roles of Two-Dimensional Mesoporous Heterostructure and Ternary Electrolyte

Efficient Electrocatalytic Upgrading of Furan-Based Biomass: Key Roles of Two-Dimensional Mesoporous Heterostructure and Ternary Electrolyte | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Efficient Electrocatalytic Upgrading of Furan-Based Biomass: Key Roles of Two-Dimensional Mesoporous Heterostructure and Ternary Electrolyte Haoran Wu, Yashi Zou, Haishan Xu, Jianming Yang, Qinye Bao, Liang Wu, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-424248/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Development of high-performance electrocatalytic systems for efficient conversion of biomass to value-added chemicals under mild conditions and understanding of their mechanisms are of profound significance, but have remained a great challenge. Here, we report the first development of two-dimensional mesoporous electrocatalyst for biomass conversion. The electrocatalyst (meso-PA/PmPD/GO) consists of phytic acid (PA)-doped mesoporous poly(m-phenylenediamine) layers coated on graphene oxide nanosheets. Meanwhile, a high-performance ternary electrolyte containing 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BmimBF4), acetonitrile and H2O is developed. The combination of meso-PA/PmPD/GO and the ternary electrolyte realizes highly efficient conversion of two important biomass derivatives at room temperature. One involves a hardly achieved oxidation of furfuryl alcohol to 6-hydroxy-2,3-dihydro-6H-pyrano-3-one with high faradic efficiency (FE: 83.7%) and selectivity (87.9%). The other involves the oxidation of furfural to 5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone with record-high FE (98.9%) and selectivity (93.6%). Mechanism study including DFT calculations unveils that N-heterocyclic carbenes (Bmim*) generated from BmimBF4 act as the reaction-determining active species. Additionally, the synergistic effect of the PA doping, mesoporous structure and p-n heterojunction interface in meso-PA/PmPD/GO favors the mass transport and the transfer of generated holes to the outer layers, thus boosting the catalytic performance. Electronic Materials and Devices Catalysis Energy Engineering electrocatalytic systems catalytic performance biomass Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Full Text Due to technical limitations, full-text HTML conversion of this manuscript could not be completed. However, the manuscript can be downloaded and accessed as a PDF. Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-424248","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":22050045,"identity":"057ec437-6192-43c0-b8d8-6cdb5c6469bc","order_by":0,"name":"Haoran Wu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Haoran","middleName":"","lastName":"Wu","suffix":""},{"id":22050046,"identity":"b0b18601-cf6e-44ff-9092-6e0b6c31d76c","order_by":1,"name":"Yashi Zou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yashi","middleName":"","lastName":"Zou","suffix":""},{"id":22050047,"identity":"5de4f4a2-d63c-4ae5-81cd-cc440e7a9aee","order_by":2,"name":"Haishan Xu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Haishan","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""},{"id":22050048,"identity":"a0daa7da-37cb-4975-9579-cfd69f045087","order_by":3,"name":"Jianming Yang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jianming","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":22050049,"identity":"89e2ebda-580f-4ffb-aee0-f555af2b7c54","order_by":4,"name":"Qinye Bao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"East China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qinye","middleName":"","lastName":"Bao","suffix":""},{"id":22050050,"identity":"6084e850-b539-40aa-aa90-ce05778949d6","order_by":5,"name":"Liang Wu","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8737-0562","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Liang","middleName":"","lastName":"Wu","suffix":""},{"id":22050051,"identity":"38715de9-2c21-4be5-9bbe-aa0b3781a152","order_by":6,"name":"Yiyong Mai","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAsUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxsYHDDxglgHRWpoNGHgMSNLCwCYBVU2kFt32w22VP2T+JDawN2+TYKi5Q1iL2ZnEtts8PAaJDTzHyiQYjj0jQssBoBYGkBaJHDMJxobDRGg5/7Ct8AdIi/wbYrXcSGxjADtMgodoLQ+bpXl4jI3beNKKLRKOEeWw9Icff/bIyfazH95440MNEVrAgLEHGDsgRgKRGoDgB/FKR8EoGAWjYAQCAKPANyyFlQF0AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6373-2597","institution":"Shanghai Jiao Tong University","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yiyong","middleName":"","lastName":"Mai","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2021-04-15 03:25:53","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-424248/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-424248/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":8381218,"identity":"4713f21f-bdfd-4134-83e1-f3826658c727","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-04-23 17:53:38","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":204395,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Schematic illustration of the synthesis of meso-PA/PmPD/GO nanosheets with in-plane cylindrical mesopores through an interfacial self-assembly strategy.","description":"","filename":"1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-424248/v1/59977d8e66f617f148d91a36.jpg"},{"id":8381532,"identity":"cf62a5d0-0cc8-4a09-aaff-9c6653e2a786","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-04-23 17:56:38","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":176837,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Structural characterizations of the meso-PA/PmPD/GO nanosheets. 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(a) Applied potential and (b) cycling performance.","description":"","filename":"4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-424248/v1/751975ff9e016a5b44b4d7e6.jpg"},{"id":8381530,"identity":"a15f32fd-e244-4fa2-b26c-812e47476ba8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-04-23 17:56:38","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":225416,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"(a) Reaction pathways for the electrochemical oxidation of furfuryl alcohol over the meso-PA/PmPD/GO electrocatalyst in the ternary electrolyte. 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(b) The corresponding DFT calculations.","description":"","filename":"6.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-424248/v1/744d1df219297300954b8a17.jpg"},{"id":8381224,"identity":"eaee30ea-18f4-4898-bd77-43e74acb1e86","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-04-23 17:53:38","extension":"jpg","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":112772,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Tafel plots of different electrolytes over meso-PA/PmPD/GO in the presence of furfuryl alcohol (a) and furfural (b). (c) EIS spectra. (d) Variations and fittings between Z’ and the reciprocal square root of the angular frequency (ω) in the low frequency region of meso-PA/PmPD/GO, meso-PmPD/GO, and non-PA/PmPD/GO in the mixture of furfuryl alcohol and the ternary electrolyte.","description":"","filename":"7.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-424248/v1/2922044fc0944d4649853111.jpg"},{"id":8381534,"identity":"43779f96-2d45-4978-8b31-dd66a3ab2ba7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-04-23 17:56:38","extension":"jpg","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":135016,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"A possible mechanism of the charge separation and transfer at the p-n heterojunction interface of the meso-PA/PmPD/GO nanosheets during the electrocatalytic oxidation of furfuryl alcohol or furfural.","description":"","filename":"8.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-424248/v1/8369ce49b483dd6842efbca7.jpg"},{"id":13624836,"identity":"456286fe-1998-42e7-b118-622f38995415","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-09-17 07:24:11","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2136109,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-424248/v1_covered.pdf"},{"id":12143377,"identity":"2a6da2a3-3101-4ac3-90de-0d721aba95c1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-08-05 12:11:43","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2132623,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-424248/v1_covered.pdf"},{"id":8381938,"identity":"51d2774d-7004-4e40-bba9-4a0bd246a989","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-04-23 17:59:45","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1831075,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-424248/v1_stamped.pdf"},{"id":8381533,"identity":"72cc8c73-5900-468b-9ed0-1c113c364615","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-04-23 17:56:38","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":4324814,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Information","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryInformation.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-424248/v1/251bb2454c6c8415e948c75e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Efficient Electrocatalytic Upgrading of Furan-Based Biomass: Key Roles of Two-Dimensional Mesoporous Heterostructure and Ternary Electrolyte","fulltext":[{"header":"Full Text","content":"\u003cp\u003eDue to technical limitations, full-text HTML conversion of this manuscript could not be completed. 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Here, we report the first development of two-dimensional mesoporous electrocatalyst for biomass conversion. The electrocatalyst (meso-PA/PmPD/GO) consists of phytic acid (PA)-doped mesoporous poly(m-phenylenediamine) layers coated on graphene oxide nanosheets. Meanwhile, a high-performance ternary electrolyte containing 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BmimBF4), acetonitrile and H2O is developed. The combination of meso-PA/PmPD/GO and the ternary electrolyte realizes highly efficient conversion of two important biomass derivatives at room temperature. One involves a hardly achieved oxidation of furfuryl alcohol to 6-hydroxy-2,3-dihydro-6H-pyrano-3-one with high faradic efficiency (FE: 83.7%) and selectivity (87.9%). The other involves the oxidation of furfural to 5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone with record-high FE (98.9%) and selectivity (93.6%). 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