Back to Search
Start Over
Alanine Formation in a Zero-Gap Flow Cell and the Role of TiO 2 /Ti Electrocatalysts.
- Source :
-
ChemPlusChem [Chempluschem] 2024 Jun; Vol. 89 (6), pp. e202300763. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 28. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- The electrochemical synthesis of α ${\alpha }$ -amino acids at room temperature and pressure is a sustainable alternative to conventional methods like microbial fermentation and Strecker synthesis. A custom-built zero-gap flow electrolyzer was used to study the electrosynthesis of alanine via the electrocatalytic reductive amination (ERA) of the corresponding biomass-derivable α ${\alpha }$ -keto acid precursor - pyruvic acid (PA), and hydroxylamine (NH <subscript>2</subscript> OH) at very low pH. Non-toxic, abundant, and easy to prepare TiO <subscript>2</subscript> /Ti electrocatalysts were utilized as the cathode. Three TiO <subscript>2</subscript> /Ti felt electrodes with different oxide thicknesses were prepared and their characterization results were correlated with their respective electrochemical performance in terms of Faradaic efficiency η ${\eta }$ , and partial current density j ‾ ${\left|\overline{j}\right|}$ . Cyclic voltammetry indicated a different electrocatalytic reduction process on hydrothermally treated electrodes, compared to thermally oxidized ones. Hydrothermally treated electrodes were also found to have the thickest porous anatase layer and achieved 50-75 % alanine conversion efficiencies. Optimization showed that the cell potential, reactant flow rate and the PA: NH <subscript>2</subscript> OH ratio were crucial parameters in determining the conversion efficiency. η ${\eta }$ and j ‾ ${\left|\overline{j}\right|}$ were found to significantly decrease when an excess of is used and, an optimal alanine η ${\eta }$ of 75 % was achieved at 2.0 V applied cell potential and 10 mL/h reactant flow rate.<br /> (© 2024 The Authors. ChemPlusChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2192-6506
- Volume :
- 89
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- ChemPlusChem
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 38358342
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cplu.202300763