Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2023, Vol. 53: 34-51.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(23)64522-X

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Selective electrochemical oxidation of alkene: Recent progress and perspectives

Jin Wanga,1, Justin Zhu Yeow Seowb,1, Zhichuan J. Xub,c,*(), Xiao Rena,*()   

  1. aBeijing National Laboratory for Molecular Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
    bSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
    cCentre for Advanced Catalysis Science and Technology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
  • Received:2023-07-13 Accepted:2023-09-20 Online:2023-10-18 Published:2023-10-25
  • Contact: *E-mail: renxiao_@pku.edu.cn (X. Ren), xuzc@ntu.edu.sg (Z. J. Xu).
  • About author:Zhichuan J. Xu is a professor at the School of Materials Science and Engieering, Nanyang Technological University, and a fellow of the Academy of Engineering, Singapore. He is a member of the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE), the Electrochemistry Society (ECS), and a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). He serves as the president of ECS Singapore Section. His major research interest is electrocatalysis.
    Xiao Ren is an associate research fellow at Peking University. After receiving his Ph.D. (2017) from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, Xiao Ren received postdoctoral training at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2017-2022). Dr. Ren joined the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engieering of Peking University in 2022. The central paradigm of his research is to develop magnetic materials for electrocatalytic reactions and to study electrochemical reaction processes involving electron spins. The main focus is on the changes in the reaction pathways and the kinetics of chemical reactions in which electron spin is involved.

    1 Contributed equally to this work.

  • Supported by:
    The National Natural Science Foundation of China(52202202);The Singapore MOE Tier 1 grant(RG78/22)

Abstract:

Alkene oxidation is an important industrial process that produces considerable quantities of commodity chemicals, notably ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. However, typical thermal oxidation processes are characterized by harsh reaction conditions and limited selectivity. Thus, electrochemical alternatives with enhanced product selectivity emerge as promising solutions with the possibility of using renewable input energy sources. Herein, we discuss strategies to improve the selectivity of alkene electrooxidation, specifically focusing on the regulation of the geometric and electronic structures of electrocatalysts, as well as the application of mediated indirect oxidation. Furthermore, we also provide an overview of the current challenges and problems requiring further investigation in improving industrial feasibility of electrochemical alkene oxidation.

Key words: Alkene oxidation, Electrocatalysis, Overoxidation, Electronic structure, Indirect oxidation