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Electrochemical oxidative valorization of lignin by the nanostructured PbO2/MWNTs electrocatalyst in a low-energy depolymerization process

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Abstract

In this study, we have investigated the application of the non-precious β-PbO2/MWNTs nanocomposites, which were developed via a simple wet-chemistry procedure, toward electrochemical oxidation of lignin. Structural characterization of the synthesized electrocatalysts was performed through X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and BET surface area analysis. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and chronoamperometry (ChA) measurements were carried out to evaluate and compare the performance of different electrocatalysts toward lignin oxidation. The 33.3 wt% β-PbO2 nanocomposite possessed the highest electro-catalytic activity and stability for depolymerization of lignin. Several oxidation products such as vanillin and methyl salicylate were also identified by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GS-MS) analysis. The enhanced electrochemical surfaces areas of the low-cost β-PbO2/MWNTs electrocatalyst combined with its good stabilities offer a promising route for developing an energy-efficient lignin depolymerization process.

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Electrochemical conversion of lignin-rich waste streams to functionalized compounds is appropriate for production of targeted biofuel and platform chemicals.

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Acknowledgements

The work was performed at the Center for Electrochemical Engineering Research (CEER) at Ohio University. We are also grateful to acknowledge Benjamin Sheets for his valuable suggestions and discussions. The authors would like to thank the Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility operated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for biorefinery lignin. The authors would like to thank the Russ Vision Fund for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA

    Fazel Bateni

  2. Center for Electrochemical Engineering Research, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

    Raziyeh Ghahremani & John A. Staser

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  1. Fazel Bateni
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  2. Raziyeh Ghahremani
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Correspondence to John A. Staser.

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Bateni, F., Ghahremani, R. & Staser, J.A. Electrochemical oxidative valorization of lignin by the nanostructured PbO2/MWNTs electrocatalyst in a low-energy depolymerization process. J Appl Electrochem 51, 65–78 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-020-01451-y

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