Zn-Organic Batteries for the Semi-Hydrogenation of Biomass Aldehyde Derivatives and Concurrently Enhanced Power Output

Electricity generation and chemical productions are both critically important for the sustainable development of modern civilization. Here, a novel bifunctional Zn-organic battery has been established for the concurrent enhanced electricity output and semi-hydrogenations of a series of biomass aldehyderivatives, for the high value-added chemical syntheses. Among them, the typical Zn-furfural (FF) battery equipped with Cu foil-supported edge-enriched Cu nanosheets as cathodic electrocatalyst (Cu NS/Cu foil), provides a maximum current density and power density of 14.6 mA cm⁻² and 2.00 mW cm⁻², respectively, and in the meantime, produces high value product, furfural alcohol (FAL). The Cu NS/Cu foil catalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance of ≈93.5 % conversion ratio and ≈93.1 % selectivity for FF semi-hydrogenation at a low potential of -1.1 V vs. Ag/AgCl by using H₂O as H source, and shows impressive performance for various biomass aldehyderivatives semi-hydrogenation.