Electrocatalytic Production of Ethylene Glycol from Ethylene on Both Electrodes
Date
2025
Authors
Huang, L.
Bao, D.
Zheng, Y.
Qiao, S.-Z.
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Journal article
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ACS Energy Letters, 2025; 10(8):3907-3913
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Linsen Huang, Deyu Bao, Yao Zheng, and Shi-Zhang Qiao
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Abstract
Electrochemical oxidation of ethylene-to-ethylene glycol offers a sustainable alternative to energy-intensive thermal processes. However, current strategies using chloride-mediated electrooxidation of ethylene suffer from low selectivity and efficiency. Here, we report a CrOₓ−IrO₂ catalyst that achieves a faradaic efficiency (FE) of 98.5% with an unprecedent ∼100% selectivity for ethylene glycol on the anode. This catalyst preferentially promotes direct *Cl adsorption on Ir sites and enhances *ClO intermediate coverage during 2-chloroethanol formation, the key precursor to ethylene glycol, while suppressing the competing *OOH pathway. Coupled with cathodic H₂O₂-mediated ethylene oxidation in an electrolyzer, this system reaches ∼100% product selectivity at both the anode and cathode, with a total production rate of 2.69 mmol cm⁻² h⁻¹. Compared to conventional systems that utilize either chloride or H₂O₂ as individual mediators, this dual-mediator strategy achieves energy savings of approximately 52 and 76%, respectively, enabling a scalable and efficient platform for ethylene glycol production from ethylene.
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© 2025 American Chemical Society