Pt/IrOx enables selective electrochemical C-H chlorination at high current

Bo Wu, Ruihu Lu, Chao Wu, Tenghui Yuan, Bin Liu, Xi Wang, Chenyi Fang, Ziyu Mi, Surani Dolmanan, Weng Weei Tjiu, Mingsheng Zhang, Bingqing Wang, Zainul Aabdin, Sui Zhang, Yi Hou, Bote Zhao, Shibo Xi, Wan Ru Leow (), Ziyun Wang () and Yanwei Lum ()
Additional contact information
Bo Wu: National University of Singapore
Ruihu Lu: The University of Auckland
Chao Wu: Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Tenghui Yuan: South China University of Technology
Bin Liu: Yale University
Xi Wang: National University of Singapore
Chenyi Fang: National University of Singapore
Ziyu Mi: Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Surani Dolmanan: Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Weng Weei Tjiu: Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Mingsheng Zhang: Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Bingqing Wang: National University of Singapore
Zainul Aabdin: Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Sui Zhang: National University of Singapore
Yi Hou: National University of Singapore
Bote Zhao: South China University of Technology
Shibo Xi: Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Wan Ru Leow: Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Ziyun Wang: The University of Auckland
Yanwei Lum: National University of Singapore

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Employing electrochemistry for the selective functionalization of liquid alkanes allows for sustainable and efficient production of high-value chemicals. However, the large potentials required for C(sp3)-H bond functionalization and low water solubility of such alkanes make it challenging. Here we discover that a Pt/IrOx electrocatalyst with optimized Cl binding energy enables selective generation of Cl free radicals for C-H chlorination of alkanes. For instance, we achieve monochlorination of cyclohexane with a current up to 5 A, Faradaic efficiency (FE) up to 95% and stable performance over 100 h in aqueous KCl electrolyte. We further demonstrate that our system can directly utilize concentrated seawater derived from a solar evaporation reverse osmosis process, achieving a FE of 93.8% towards chlorocyclohexane at a current of 1 A. By coupling to a photovoltaic module, we showcase solar-driven production of chlorocyclohexane using concentrated seawater in a membrane electrode assembly cell without any external bias. Our findings constitute a sustainable pathway towards renewable energy driven chemicals manufacture using abundant feedstock at industrially relevant rates.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55283-x

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