Enhanced electrocatalytic glycerol oxidation coupled with hydrogen production over mesoporous Cu/Cu₂O@NF nanostructures catalysts synthesized via liquid crystal template

The transformation of glycerol—a major biodiesel industry byproduct—into valuable chemicals and energy represents a sustainable approach to waste valorization. Glycerol electrooxidation offers a promising pathway for this conversion, yet developing efficient, cost-effective catalysts based on earth-abundant metals remains a significant challenge. Herein, we present a mesoporous Cu/Cu₂O electrocatalyst synthesized via liquid crystal templating that demonstrates exceptional performance for glycerol oxidation. Compared to a non-templated control catalyst, the mesoporous structure exhibits substantially enhanced activity, requiring only 0.32 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) to initiate the reaction and achieving high current densities (502 mA·cm⁻²). The catalyst also demonstrates favorable reaction kinetics (Tafel slope: 78.9 mV·dec⁻¹), low charge transfer resistance (1.09 Ω), and remarkable operational stability for 16 h. The mesoporous Cu/Cu₂O@NF electrode demonstrated bifunctional electrocatalytic activity toward both hydrogen evolution and glycerol oxidation, achieving a faradaic efficiency of 95.38% with sustained stability, making it a promising material for glycerol-based electrochemical energy conversion. These results establish mesoporous Cu/Cu₂O as a viable non-precious metal alternative for glycerol electrooxidation and provide mechanistic insights into the reaction pathway, advancing the development of sustainable technologies for biomass conversion.