Electrocatalytic Reductive Amination and Simultaneous Oxidation of Biomass-Derived 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

Simultaneous upgrading of biomass derivatives on highly efficient nonprecious metal-electrocatalysts is still an unprecedented challenge. We propose an electrocatalytic reductive amination and simultaneous oxidation (ERAO) route to convert biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into valuable 2-hydroxymethyl-5-(ethanolamine methyl)furan (HEMF) at the cathode side and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) at the anode. Accordingly, the cathode and anode electrode materials of the ERAO electrolyzer are titanium-based metal–organic framework (Ti-MOF) cubes and NiCoFe-LDHs nanosheets, respectively. The overall ERAO shows very good performance with ∼68% conversion of HMF after 6 h reaction, which is closely related to the exposed N–Ti–O active center from Ti-MOF and porous structure in providing extra access to the internal sites. The good stability of these catalysts after ERAO was further investigated. This work provides a sustainable route for biomass upgrading using the highly efficient nonprecious metal electrocatalysts.