5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Oxidation in Scaled Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer with NiCuOx Catalyst

The utilization of anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzers presents an opportunity for commercial production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) through electrochemical oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Consequently, developing facile synthesis techniques of scaled-up electrocatalysts for HMF oxidation reaction (HMFOR) is a crucial step. Herein, we developed a one-step soaking method for preparing a 100 cm2 NiCu-based catalyst on Ni foam (NiCuOx/NF) in 10 s. In a single-pass 25 cm2 AEM electrolyzer assembled by the obtained catalyst, a high single-pass yield of ≥95.0% and selectivity of ≥99.9% were achieved to produce FDCA continuously with 200 mM HMF electrolyte. After 100 h of stable operation at 10 A, 207.28 g of FDCA was attained with a high purity of over 99%. This work provides valuable insights into developing industrial-scale electrocatalysts and the commercialization of biomass upgrading in AEM electrolyzers.