Ag Nanoparticles/NiSx/ZnO Nanorods/Carbon Fiber Electrocatalysts for 5-Hydroxymethyl Furfural Oxidation and p-Nitrophenol Reduction: Implications for Green Chemical Electrosynthesis Applications

Nanoscale Ag (5 nm) is incorporated into NiSx for studying the catalytic reactions of p-nitrophenol and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural in an alkaline environment, which show an unparalleled catalytic performance, allowing two reactants to be disposed of with low energy consumption and yielding fine chemicals. Faraday efficiencies of 100% are obtained for the overall redox processes at a remarkably low voltage (1.0 V vs SHE) due to the incorporation of Ag nanodots. The real-time monitoring of the reaction shows that the conversion of both electrochemistry-catalyzed reactions could be completed within 148 min, with a conversion and yield close to 100%. These results reveal the great potential of Ag nanodots in reducing the energy consumption of electrochemically catalyzed organic substrates.