CoOx/Ni foam as catalyst for the electrochemical reforming of a complex ethanosolv-derived carbohydrate stream
6 affiliations
- 1Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 3, Groningen, AG, Netherlands, 9747
- 2Institute of Process Engineering
- 3Chinese Academy of Sciences
- 4State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemical Engineering and Environment
- 5China University of Petroleum
- 6Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 3, Groningen, AG, Netherlands, 9747
Abstract
The electrocatalytic reforming of complex carbohydrate mixtures derived from hemicellulose has broad prospects in the green production of hydrogen and high-value chemicals. In this work, a CoOx/Ni foam (NF) electrocatalyst is used to funnel a complex carbohydrate mixture, obtained from a flowthrough mild-ethanosolv fractionation, to simplified valuable organic acid salts at room temperature. The CoOx/NF catalyst was prepared using a Co 9 S 8 /NF precursor and its electrooxidation performance was studied using xylose as a model molecule. At ambient temperature and pressure, the CoOx/NF electrocatalyst is seen to significantly reduce the electrooxidation potential of xylose compared to an activated NF electrode. Moreover, CoOx/NF achieved a formate yield as high as 73% at 1.42 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), while with the activated NF electrode the yield was only 46%. Density functional theory calculations revealed that interfacial electron transfer in the CoOx/NF significantly enhances the adsorption of xylose, thereby effectively improving reactivity and selectivity. When the CoOx/NF catalyst is used in the electrooxidation of crude carbohydrate streams, it reduces the measured potentials compared to the oxygen evolution reaction, and effectively generates formate and oxalate. This work demonstrates an efficient and environmentally friendly strategy for upgrading biorefinery side-streams into value-added chemicals.
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BibTeX
@misc{jiang2026cooxni,
title = {{CoOx/Ni foam as catalyst for the electrochemical reforming of a complex ethanosolv-derived carbohydrate stream}},
author = {Chongyang Jiang and Zhenlei Zhang and Amponsah P. Appiah and Tim. G. W. Engels and Muhammad Wasseem and Antonija Grubišić-Čabo and Xiangping Zhang and Peter J. Deuss and Dulce M. Morales},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15010989/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010989/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - CoOx/Ni foam as catalyst for the electrochemical reforming of a complex ethanosolv-derived carbohydrate stream
AU - Chongyang Jiang
AU - Zhenlei Zhang
AU - Amponsah P. Appiah
AU - Tim. G. W. Engels
AU - Muhammad Wasseem
AU - Antonija Grubišić-Čabo
AU - Xiangping Zhang
AU - Peter J. Deuss
AU - Dulce M. Morales
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010989/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010989/v1
AB - The electrocatalytic reforming of complex carbohydrate mixtures derived from hemicellulose has broad prospects in the green production of hydrogen and high-value chemicals. In this work, a CoOx/Ni foam (NF) electrocatalyst is used to funnel a complex carbohydrate mixture, obtained from a flowthrough mild-ethanosolv fractionation, to simplified valuable organic acid salts at room temperature. The CoOx/NF catalyst was prepared using a Co 9 S 8 /NF precursor and its electrooxidation performance was studied using xylose as a model molecule. At ambient temperature and pressure, the CoOx/NF electrocatalyst is seen to significantly reduce the electrooxidation potential of xylose compared to an activated NF electrode. Moreover, CoOx/NF achieved a formate yield as high as 73% at 1.42 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), while with the activated NF electrode the yield was only 46%. Density functional theory calculations revealed that interfacial electron transfer in the CoOx/NF significantly enhances the adsorption of xylose, thereby effectively improving reactivity and selectivity. When the CoOx/NF catalyst is used in the electrooxidation of crude carbohydrate streams, it reduces the measured potentials compared to the oxygen evolution reaction, and effectively generates formate and oxalate. This work demonstrates an efficient and environmentally friendly strategy for upgrading biorefinery side-streams into value-added chemicals.
ER -