Surface hydrogen migration significantly promotes electroreduction of acetonitrile to ethylamine.

ABSTRACT: The electrochemical reduction of acetonitrile (AN) to ethylamine (EA) is an attractive yet challenging process, primarily due to the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). This study demonstrates the ability to halt the HER at Volmer step, where protons migrate to the unsaturated bond of AN on a self-supported CuO@Cu heterostructure. The CuO@Cu catalyst exhibits nearly 100% Faradaic efficiency (FE) over the entire range of potentials tested from -0.1 to -0.4 V vs. RHE, demonstrating remarkable stability over 1000 h at a constant current density of 0.2 A cm^-2. CuO is identified as the active component driving the reaction, while the metallic Cu facilitates efficient electron transfer. Theoretical simulations and experimental evidences indicate that a synergistic hydrogenati

SUBMITTER: Tang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11882813 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature