Alkaline-free oxidation of ethylene glycol into glycolic acid over PdNi/NF in an asymmetric electrolytic cell

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2025.06.016

中国化学工程学报 ›› 2025, Vol. 86 ›› Issue (10): 79-86.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2025.06.016

• Special Issue on Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology of Tianjin University • 上一篇下一篇

Alkaline-free oxidation of ethylene glycol into glycolic acid over PdNi/NF in an asymmetric electrolytic cell

Jia Cheng, Yang Xiang, Xun Huang, Zidong Wei

Center of Advanced Electrochemical Energy, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China

收稿日期:2025-03-31 修回日期:2025-06-01 接受日期:2025-06-02 出版日期:2025-10-28 发布日期:2025-08-11
通讯作者: Xun Huang,E-mail:huangxun@cqu.edu.cn;Zidong Wei,E-mail:zdwei@cqu.edu.cn
基金资助:
This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFA1504200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22178033 and 22090030) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2024CDJXY010).

Alkaline-free oxidation of ethylene glycol into glycolic acid over PdNi/NF in an asymmetric electrolytic cell

Jia Cheng, Yang Xiang, Xun Huang, Zidong Wei

Center of Advanced Electrochemical Energy, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China

Received:2025-03-31 Revised:2025-06-01 Accepted:2025-06-02 Online:2025-10-28 Published:2025-08-11
Contact: Xun Huang,E-mail:huangxun@cqu.edu.cn;Zidong Wei,E-mail:zdwei@cqu.edu.cn
Supported by:
This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFA1504200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22178033 and 22090030) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2024CDJXY010).

摘要/Abstract

摘要： Electrocatalytic oxidation of surplus ethylene glycol (EG) to high-value glycolic acid (GA) represents a promising approach for sustainable resource utilization, though critical challenges persist in developing durable electrocatalysts and achieving effective recovery of the free acid product from its salt derivatives in alkaline electrolytes. In this work, a PdNi/NF catalyst was rationally synthesized via a one-step electrodeposition method. Systematic characterization revealed that the electron transfer from Ni to Pd modulates *OH adsorption to accelerate EG oxidation reaction (EGOR) while preventing Pd deactivation through oxidation. The optimized system demonstrated exceptional alkaline performance with a glycolic acid Faraday efficiency of 95% and a current density of 666 mA·cm^-2. When implemented in an asymmetric EGORHER flow cell configuration where only the cathodic electrolyte contains alkaline, the system demonstrated exceptional operational stability by sustaining 70 mA·cm^-2 current density at a low cell voltage of 0.9 V in neutral media for over 100 h, with product glycolic acid requiring no further acidification. This investigation provides a practical framework for designing efficient electrocatalytic systems that simplifies product separation steps.

关键词: Ethylene glycol, Glycolic acid, PdNi, Separation, Asymmetric reactor

Abstract: Electrocatalytic oxidation of surplus ethylene glycol (EG) to high-value glycolic acid (GA) represents a promising approach for sustainable resource utilization, though critical challenges persist in developing durable electrocatalysts and achieving effective recovery of the free acid product from its salt derivatives in alkaline electrolytes. In this work, a PdNi/NF catalyst was rationally synthesized via a one-step electrodeposition method. Systematic characterization revealed that the electron transfer from Ni to Pd modulates *OH adsorption to accelerate EG oxidation reaction (EGOR) while preventing Pd deactivation through oxidation. The optimized system demonstrated exceptional alkaline performance with a glycolic acid Faraday efficiency of 95% and a current density of 666 mA·cm^-2. When implemented in an asymmetric EGORHER flow cell configuration where only the cathodic electrolyte contains alkaline, the system demonstrated exceptional operational stability by sustaining 70 mA·cm^-2 current density at a low cell voltage of 0.9 V in neutral media for over 100 h, with product glycolic acid requiring no further acidification. This investigation provides a practical framework for designing efficient electrocatalytic systems that simplifies product separation steps.

Key words: Ethylene glycol, Glycolic acid, PdNi, Separation, Asymmetric reactor

Jia Cheng, Yang Xiang, Xun Huang, Zidong Wei. Alkaline-free oxidation of ethylene glycol into glycolic acid over PdNi/NF in an asymmetric electrolytic cell[J]. 中国化学工程学报, 2025, 86(10): 79-86.

Jia Cheng, Yang Xiang, Xun Huang, Zidong Wei. Alkaline-free oxidation of ethylene glycol into glycolic acid over PdNi/NF in an asymmetric electrolytic cell[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2025, 86(10): 79-86.

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Alkaline-free oxidation of ethylene glycol into glycolic acid over PdNi/NF in an asymmetric electrolytic cell

Alkaline-free oxidation of ethylene glycol into glycolic acid over PdNi/NF in an asymmetric electrolytic cell

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