Low-Energy Mild Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Bio-oil Using Ruthenium Anchored in Ordered Mesoporous Carbon

Hereby, we develop a novel Fe(III)/Fe(II) ion pair based low-energy electrocatalytic hydrogenation of bio-oil using well-dispersed ruthenium nanoparticles anchored in ordered mesoporous carbon as electrocatalyst. Results demonstrate that this technique increases the hydrogen content and molecular weight of bio-oil. The alcohol carbon content and polyhydric alcohol selectivity in oil dramatically increases after processing. Moreover, low-energy electrocatalytic hydrogenation possesses a higher electrochemical efficiency in comparison with the oxygen evolution reaction-based system, suggesting that the Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couple is promising for energy consumption reduction and electrocatalytic hydrogenation performance improvement. Meanwhile, the novel electrocatalyst demonstrates a better ability for electrocatalytic hydrogenation of bio-oil in contrast with electrocatalysts prepared with conventional incipient wetness impregnation. Additionlly, the feasibility of oxidative depolymerization of lignin by Fe(III) is also explored, and it is found that Fe(III) oxidation can give rise to effective degradation of lignin to produce high-value-added chemicals.