Research progress of transition metal catalysts for electrocatalytic Ethylene glycol oxidation

As a small alcohol molecule with low oxidation potential, ethylene glycol is also a key monomer in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The realization of efficient ethylene glycol oxidation can further realize the recycling of waste PET. At present, there have been a lot of researches on catalysts for Ethylene glycol oxidation(EGOR), among which transition metal catalysts (including Fe, Co, Ni and other conventional non-precious metals and Pt, Pb and other precious metals) have a good application prospect in the oxidation reaction of ethylene glycol due to their unique electronic structure. In this work, the synthesis strategies of transition metal catalysts used for electrocatalytic oxidation of EG were summarized and the performance of different types of catalysts in ethylene glycol oxidation was reviewed. Advanced characterization methods were used to understand the oxidation mechanism of EG and to control the EGOR intermediates into target products. Therefore, we need to further explore efficient ethylene glycol oxidation catalysts to achieve efficient reactions.