Spatial-coupled Ampere-level Electrochemical Propylene Epoxidation over RuO2/Ti Hollow-fiber Penetration Electrodes

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2024 Oct 24;63(44):e202411173. doi: 10.1002/anie.202411173. Epub 2024 Sep 24.

Abstract

The electrochemical propylene epoxidation reaction (PER) provides a promising route for ecofriendly propylene oxide (PO) production, instantly generating active halogen/oxygen species to alleviate chloride contamination inherent in traditional PER. However, the complex processes and unsatisfactory PO yield for current electrochemical PER falls short of meeting industrial application requirements. Herein, a spatial-coupling strategy over RuO2/Ti hollow-fiber penetration electrode (HPE) is adopted to facilitate efficient PO production, significantly improving PER performance to ampere level (achieving over 80 % PO faradaic efficiency and a maximum PO current density of 859 mA cm-2). The synergetic combination of the penetration effect of HPE and the spatial-coupled reaction sequence, enables the realization of ampere-level PO production with high specificity, exhibiting significant potentials for economically viable PER applications.

Keywords: electrochemical propylene epoxidation; hollow-fiber penetration electrode; in situ Raman quantification; propylene oxide; spatial-coupled reaction sequence.