Conducting Polymer Electrocatalysts for Proton‐Coupled Electron Transfer Reactions: Toward Organic Fuel Cells with Forest Fuels

Abstract Lignin is one of the most abundant biopolymers, constituting 25% of plants. The pulp and paper industries extract lignin in their process and today seek new applications for this by‐product. Here, it is reported that the aromatic alcohols obtained from lignin depolymerization can be used as fuel in high power density electrical power sources. This study shows that the conducting polymer poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene), fabricated from abundant elements via low temperature synthesis, enables efficient, direct, and reversible chemical‐to‐electrical energy conversion of aromatic alcohols such as lignin residues in aqueous media. A material operation principle related to the relatively high molecular diffusion and ionic conductivity within the conducting polymer matrix, ensuring efficient uptake of protons in the course of proton‐coupled electron transfers between organic molecules is proposed.