Sulfur-Driven Surface Reconstruction of Nickel into NiOOH for Enhanced Electrooxidative Lignin Depolymerization
Abstract
text Finding strategies to maximize the density of catalytically active sites is pivotal to enhancing the electrooxidative depolymerization of lignin. Here, we present a Ni 3 S 2 precatalyst grown on nickel foam that, upon electrochemical activation, self-reconstructs into a NiOOH electrocatalyst with a high density of Ni 3+ active sites. This proliferation of active sites drastically increases the anodic currents for the oxygen evolution reaction as well as for benzyl alcohol oxidation. Operando Raman spectroscopy confirms the formation of the active NiOOH phase at low operating potential, while depth-profiling analysis reveals that this active phase extends tens of nanometers deep before transitioning to the underlying sulfide core. Electrooxidation of veratrylglycerol-beta-guaiacyl ether, a model dimer bearing a β-O-4 interunit linkage, selectively yields veratric acid and veratraldehyde, confirming the C α -C β bond cleavage. Applied to organosolv lignin extracted from pine wood, the electrocatalyst achieves substantial depolymerization, reducing the average molecular weight three-fold and releasing vanillic acid and vanillin as major monomeric products, reaching 22.4 % of the theoretical maximum monomer yield. Overall, this self-reconstructed architecture offers a compelling route for boosting the activity of oxyhydroxide-based electrodes while retaining their intrinsic selectivity.
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BibTeX
@misc{catala2026sulfurdriven,
title = {{Sulfur-Driven Surface Reconstruction of Nickel into NiOOH for Enhanced Electrooxidative Lignin Depolymerization}},
author = {Javier Fernández Catalá and Xavier Marset and Salvador Montilla-Verdu and Elio Rico and Francisco J. Vidal-Iglesias and Néstor Guijarro},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15010006/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010006/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Sulfur-Driven Surface Reconstruction of Nickel into NiOOH for Enhanced Electrooxidative Lignin Depolymerization
AU - Javier Fernández Catalá
AU - Xavier Marset
AU - Salvador Montilla-Verdu
AU - Elio Rico
AU - Francisco J. Vidal-Iglesias
AU - Néstor Guijarro
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010006/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010006/v1
AB - text Finding strategies to maximize the density of catalytically active sites is pivotal to enhancing the electrooxidative depolymerization of lignin. Here, we present a Ni 3 S 2 precatalyst grown on nickel foam that, upon electrochemical activation, self-reconstructs into a NiOOH electrocatalyst with a high density of Ni 3+ active sites. This proliferation of active sites drastically increases the anodic currents for the oxygen evolution reaction as well as for benzyl alcohol oxidation. Operando Raman spectroscopy confirms the formation of the active NiOOH phase at low operating potential, while depth-profiling analysis reveals that this active phase extends tens of nanometers deep before transitioning to the underlying sulfide core. Electrooxidation of veratrylglycerol-beta-guaiacyl ether, a model dimer bearing a β-O-4 interunit linkage, selectively yields veratric acid and veratraldehyde, confirming the C α -C β bond cleavage. Applied to organosolv lignin extracted from pine wood, the electrocatalyst achieves substantial depolymerization, reducing the average molecular weight three-fold and releasing vanillic acid and vanillin as major monomeric products, reaching 22.4 % of the theoretical maximum monomer yield. Overall, this self-reconstructed architecture offers a compelling route for boosting the activity of oxyhydroxide-based electrodes while retaining their intrinsic selectivity.
ER -