Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of Levulinic Acid to Valeric Acid on a Nanocrystalline PbO-In₂O₃ Catalyst

Electrosynthesis offers an efficient and sustainable strategy for the conversion of biomass-derived platform molecules. Among this process, developing efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts is of vital importance. We report herein the preparation of the nanocrystalline PbO-In₂O₃ catalysts for the electrocatalytic reduction of levulinic acid (LA) to valeric acid (VA). A series of non-noble nanocrystalline PbO-In₂O₃ composite materials with different molar compositions were prepared and thoroughly characterized. The prepared nanocrystalline PbO-In₂O₃ composite materials were used as working electrode for the electrocatalytic hydrogenation of LA in an H-type electrolytic cell. A LA conversion of 41.4 % and VA selectivity of 97.8 % was achieved with the VA faradic efficiency of 89.2 % under the high current density of 134 mA cm⁻². This is the first report on the electrocatalytic reduction of LA to VA using PbO-In₂O₃ composite electrode catalyst.