Ultrafast activation of Ni foam by electro-corrosion and its use for upcycling PBT plastic waste

Herein, an ultrafast electro-corrosion approach is developed for activating Ni foam (NF) into an efficient electrocatalyst for upcycling polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) waste plastic. The electro-corrosion process assisted by Cl− is completed by only 6 CV cycles (∼3 min) and the activity of the treated NF (T-NF), characterized by the integrated Ni2+/Ni3+ peak area is enhanced by 150 times. The T-NF electrode exhibits excellent catalytic activity toward 1,4-butanediol oxidation, delivering a current density of 50 mA cm−2 at 1.36 V (vs. RHE). This allows the electrocatalytic reforming of 1,4-butanediol component in PBT hydrolysate into succinate with a high Faraday efficiency 93%. The in-situ Raman and FTIR spectroscopies combining density functional theory calculations identify catalytically active centers, critical intermediates, and favorable pathway for 1,4-butanediol oxidation to succinate. This work provides an ultrafast one-step surface engineering strategy to turn pristine Ni foams into high-performance electrocatalysts for upcycling PBT plastic and other electrochemical applications.