Highly efficient electrocatalysis dechlorination of Dichloromethane over Single-Atom Cu/Co3O4-β spinel nanofibers

作者：Yang, Jing; Fan, Shiying^*; Li, Xinyong^*; Tao, Yiyuan; Wang, Jingang; Chen, Guohua

来源：Chemical Engineering Journal, 2023, 470: 144040.

DOI：10.1016/j.cej.2023.144040

• Dichloromethane
• Electrocatalytic dechlorination
• Single atom
• Cobaltosic oxide

Electrochemical selective dechlorination of dichloromethane (DCM) to chloromethane is a promising and sus-tainable strategy of resources. However, the current lack of high-performance electrocatalysts and complicated dechlorination mechanisms pose significant challenges. In this study, we report a series of Cu single-atom cat-alysts (SACs) supported on Co3O4-& beta; spinel with a tube-in-tube nanofiber structure, denoted as Cux SACs/Co3O4-& beta;, where x represents the theoretical Cu loading (0.26 wt%, 0.30 wt% and 0.50 wt%). These catalysts effectively dechlorinate DCM, producing high-value hydrocarbons like chloromethane and methane. Notably, Cu0.30 SACs/ Co3O4-& beta; exhibited a high chloromethane production rate (2931 & mu;mol g- 1h- 1) and selectivity (76%) at-2.98 V vs (Ag/AgCl/Me4NCl) due to the synergy of cobaltosic oxide (Co3O4) spinel and Cu single atom. X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance experiments confirmed the presence of additional surface oxygen vacancies in Cu0.30 SACs/Co3O4-& beta;, which improved the electrocatalysis performance for DCM dechlorination. Furthermore, a concerted dechlorination mechanism was suggested based on the transfer coef-ficient & alpha;. This research paves the way for the development of novel spinel electrocatalysts and the advancement of dechlorination reactions.