Nitrogen modulated NiMoO4 with enhanced activity for the electrochemical oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid

Electrocatalytic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is a promising and green process, which urgently demands high-performance catalysts. In this work, a nitrogen-modulated NiMoO4 growth on Ni foam (N-NiMoO4/NF) is prepared via the treatment of NiMoO4 in 1% NH3 at 500 °C. Compared with NiMoO4, the nitrogen-modulated NiMoO4 promotes electro-oxidation of HMF to FDCA and exhibits almost 100% HMF conversion, 97% FDCA yield, and 91% faradaic efficiency. N-NiMoO4 has a higher electrochemical surface area and lower charge transfer resistance than NiMoO4, which enhances the activity of the catalyst for electrocatalytic oxidation of HMF to FDCA. This work gives enlightenment on the nitrogen modulation method to tune the activity of electrocatalysts for biomass refineries.