催化学报 ›› 2025, Vol. 76: 185-197.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(25)64779-6

• 论文 • 上一篇    下一篇

配体保护的精确结构镍纳米团簇高效电催化甘油氧化制甲酸

杨丹a,1,*(), 崔翔a,1, 徐周a,1, 颜前a, 吴雅婷a, 周春梅a, 戴翼虎a, 万晓月a, 靳玉广b, 杨艳辉a,*()   

  1. a南京工业大学化学与分子工程学院, 先进化学制造研究院, 江苏南京 211816, 中国
    b鄂尔多斯实验室, 内蒙古鄂尔多斯 017010, 中国
    cN. D. Zelinsky有机化学研究所, 莫斯科, 俄罗斯
    d莫斯科国立大学化学系, 莫斯科, 俄罗斯
  • 收稿日期:2025-04-09 接受日期:2025-07-04 出版日期:2025-09-18 发布日期:2025-09-10
  • 通讯作者: 杨丹,杨艳辉
  • 作者简介:第一联系人:

    1共同第一作者.

  • 基金资助:
    江苏省自然科学基金(BK20230329);国家自然科学基金(22401147);国家自然科学基金(22361132540);国家自然科学基金(22178161);俄罗斯科学基金(23-73-30007)

Efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of glycerol toward formic acid over well-defined nickel nanoclusters capped by ligands

Dan Yanga,1,*(), Xiang Cuia,1, Zhou Xua,1, Qian Yana, Yating Wua, Chunmei Zhoua, Yihu Daia, Xiaoyue Wana, Yuguang Jinb, Leonid M. Kustovc,d, Yanhui Yanga,*()   

  1. aInstitute of Advanced Synthesis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, Jiangsu, China
    bOrdos Laboratory, Ordos 017010, Inner Mongolia, China
    cN. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry RAS, 47 Leninsky prosp., Moscow 119991, Russia
    dChemistry Department, Moscow State University, 1 Leninskie Gory, bldg. 3, Moscow 119992, Russia
  • Received:2025-04-09 Accepted:2025-07-04 Online:2025-09-18 Published:2025-09-10
  • Contact: Dan Yang, Yanhui Yang
  • About author:First author contact:

    1 Contributed equally to this work.

  • Supported by:
    the Jiangsu Natural Science Foundation of China(BK20230329);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22401147);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22361132540);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22178161);the Russian Science Foundation(23-73-30007)

摘要:

甘油电催化氧化制甲酸是甘油转化利用最有前景的途径之一. 作为化石燃料的替代品, 生物柴油是一种清洁且可再生的能源. 然而, 其生产过程中大量副产的粗甘油制约了行业的发展. 将甘油转化为高附加值化学品对于推动生物柴油行业的可持续发展至关重要. 由可再生电力驱动的甘油选择性电催化氧化转化受到了研究者广泛关注, 其中氧化产物甲酸因其低毒性和高能量密度, 被认为是极具潜力的氢载体. 因此开发高效电催化剂实现甘油选择性氧化制甲酸意义重大.

与传统镍基催化剂相比, 配体保护的镍纳米团簇不仅具有结构明确的活性位点, 而且可以通过系统调节镍纳米团簇表面的配体覆盖度和电子结构, 实现对其催化性能的有效调控. 基于此, 本文可控合成了一系列结构明确的Nin(PET)2n纳米团簇(n = 4, 5, 6; SR = 苯乙硫醇, 正丁硫醇, 正己硫醇), 用于电催化甘油氧化制甲酸. 结果表明, 对镍纳米团簇表面进行一定的电化学预处理会有效提升其电催化活性, 其中Ni6-PET-50CV电催化性能最佳: 甲酸选择性达到93%、甘油转化率达到86%, 显著优于传统NiO和Ni(OH)2纳米颗粒催化剂. 这主要归因于其具有较低的电荷转移阻抗和较快的反应动力学. 结合原位红外、拉曼、紫外-可见光谱和X射线吸收精细结构测量, 重点研究了镍纳米团簇催化剂在电化学预处理和反应过程中结构的演变. 结果表明, 经过电化学预处理和电催化反应后, 镍纳米团簇没有团聚形成镍纳米颗粒以及NiOOH, 镍纳米团簇结构通过形成部分Ni-O键得以保持完整. 此外, 电化学动力学研究和原位红外光谱表明, 镍纳米团簇电催化甘油氧化的反应机制为连续氧化机制, 其中主要的反应步骤甘油→甘油醛→甘油酸的转化快速进行, 即使在低转化率下仍能高选择性生成甲酸.

综上, 配体保护的镍纳米团簇可高效将甘油电催化氧化为甲酸, 为研究镍纳米团簇在生物质衍生多羟基平台分子转化为高附加值羧酸中的应用提供了实践应用和理论参考.

关键词: 镍纳米团簇, 精确结构, 电催化, 甘油氧化, 甲酸

Abstract:

The electrocatalytic oxidation of glycerol toward formic acid is one of the most promising pathways for transformation and utilization of glycerol. Herein, a series of well-defined Nin(SR)2n nanoclusters (n = 4, 5, 6; denoted as Ni NCs) were prepared for the electrocatalytic glycerol oxidation toward formic acid, in which Ni6-PET-50CV afforded the most excellent electrocatalytic performance with a high formic acid selectivity of 93% and a high glycerol conversion of 86%. This was attributed to the lowest charge transfer impedance and the most rapid reaction kinetics. Combined electrochemical measurements and X-ray absorption fine structure measurements revealed that the structures of Ni NCs remained intact after CV scanning pretreatment and electrocatalysis via forming the Ni-O bond. Additionally, the kinetic studies and in-situ Fourier transformed infrared suggested a sequential oxidation mechanism, in which the main reaction steps of glycerol → glyceraldehyde → glyceric acid were very rapid to produce a high selectivity of formic acid even though the low glycerol conversion. This work presents an opportunity to study Ni NCs for the efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of biomass-derived polyhydroxyl platform molecules to produce value-added carboxylic acids.

Key words: Nickel nanocluster, Well-defined structure, Electrocatalysis, Glycerol oxidation, Formic acid