Electrocatalytic Glycerol Upgrading into Glyceric Acid on Ni 3 Sn Intermetallic Compound.

Electrochemical glycerol oxidation features an attractive approach of converting bulk chemicals into high-value products such as glyceric acid. Nonetheless, to date, the major product selectivity has mostly been limited as low-value C 1 products such as formate, CO, and CO 2 , due to the fast cleavage of carbon-carbon (C-C) bonds during electro-oxidation. Herein, the study develops an atomically ordered Ni 3 Sn intermetallic compound catalyst, in which Sn atoms with low carbon-binding and high oxygen-binding capability allow to tune the adsorption of glycerol oxidation intermediates from multi-valent carbon binding to mono-valent carbon binding, as well as enhance * OH binding and subsequent nucleophilic attack. The Ni 3 Sn electrocatalyst exhibits one of the highest glycerol-to-glyceric acid performances, including a high glycerol conversion rate (1199 µmol h -1 ) and glyceric acid selectivity (62 ± 3%), a long electrochemical stability of > 150 h, and the capability of direct conversion of crude glycerol (85% purity) into glyceric acid. The work features the rational design of highly ordered catalytic sites for tailoring intermediate binding and reaction pathways, thereby facilitating the efficient production of high-value chemical products.