Paired Electrolysis of Acrylonitrile and 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural for Simultaneous Generation of Adiponitrile and 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid

The classic acrylonitrile (AN) electrohydrodimerization (EHD) to adiponitrile (ADN) process produces oxygen on the anode side. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is energy consuming, and O-2 is of low value and has security issues while directly contacting with organic molecules. Herein, by replacing OER with 5-hydroxymethylfurfural oxidation reaction (HMFOR), we report paired electrolysis of AN and HMF for simultaneous generation of ADN and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). On the anode side, the electrodeposited amorphous NiMoP film-covered nickel foam efficiently boosted HMFOR activity by enlarging the electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) via in situ selective removal of Mo and P on the surface. On the cathode side, addition of dimethylformamide (DMF) as a cosolvent enhanced the reaction efficiency of ANEHD by forming a single-phase electrolyte that offers better interaction between AN and the electrode. The ANEHD-HMFOR paired system shows excellent generation rates of FDCA (0.018 g(FDCA)center dot h(-1)center dot cm(-2)) and ADN (0.017 g(ADN)center dot h(-1)center dot cm(-2)) at a high cell current (160 mA). An amount of 1 kWh of electricity can produce 2.91 mol of ADN and 0.53 mol of FDCA with 107.1% Faraday efficiency.

Automated summary

In this study, a method to substitute the oxygen evolution reaction with 5-hydroxymethylfurfural oxidation reaction in the classic acrylonitrile electrohydrodimerization process was reported. By pairing the AN electrolysis with HMFOR, simultaneous generation of adiponitrile and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid was achieved. Effective strategies were adopted on both the anode and cathode sides to enhance the reaction efficiency.