Electrocatalytic Glycerol Upgrading into Glyceric Acid on Ni3Sn Intermetallic Compound

Abstract 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.