Electrochemical hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis of furfural on copper electrode enhanced by surface environment modulation with metal–organic framework

Recently advancements in electrochemical hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis (ECH) have sought to improve the sustainable production of biochemicals. Cu foil has been extensively investigated in the ECH reaction of furfural (FF) into furfuryl alcohol (FA) and 2-methylfuran (MF) while its catalytic performance is still impeded by its intrinsically flat surface. In this study, we propose a facile approach to improve the ECH reaction of FF over Cu foil by surface modifications with MOF-808, a Zr-based metal–organic framework with abundant terminal –OH/OH₂ groups. The coordinatively unsaturated Zr site (Zr-CUS) present in framework could act as Lewis acid center to interact with the carbonyl oxygen of FF, thus facilitating the diffusion of FF from the electrolyte solution to near-surface region of Cu electrode. The terminal –OH/OH₂ functional groups on the node could serve as proton donors and/or acceptors, thereby creating the proton-rich environment at the surface of Cu electrode. The findings in this study demonstrate an effective strategy to enhance the electrocatalytic performance of metal foil electrode via the modifications with rationally designed MOF overlayer.