Electrolyte dependence for the electrochemical decarboxylation of medium-chain fatty acids (n-octanoic acid) into fuel on Pt electrode  

作　　者：Zhenmin Zhang Dezhang Ren Dian Zhang Tiantian Hu Congyuan Zeng Nengneng Xu Zhibao Huo Jinli Qiao 

机构地区：[1]College of Marine Ecology and Environment,Shanghai Ocean University,Shanghai,201306,PR China [2]Department of Mechanical Engineering,Southern University and A&M College,Baton Rouge,LA,70807,USA [3]State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials,College of Environmental Science and Engineering,Donghua University,Shanghai,201620,PR China [4]Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security,Shanghai,200092,PR China

出　　处：《Materials Reports(Energy)》2024年第2期64-70,共7页材料导报（能源）（英文）

基　　金：The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Shanghai Pujiang Program(20PJ1404800);“Scientific and Technical Innovation Action Plan”Basic Research Field of Shanghai Science and Technology Committee(19JC1410500).

摘　　要：The deoxygenation of organic acids, important biomass feedstocks and derivatives, to synthesize hydrocarbon products under mild electrochemical conditions, holds significant importance for the production of carbon-neutral biofuels. There is still limited research on the influential factors of the electrochemical decarboxylation reaction of medium-chain fatty acids. In this study, n-octanoic acid (OA) was chosen as the research subject to investigate the electrochemical decarboxylation behavior of OA on a platinum electrode, focusing on the influence of different alkali metal cations (Li^(+), Na^(+), K^(+)), common anions (SO^(4)^(2−), Cl^(−)), and electrolyte pH. It was found that KOH as an electrolyte exhibited the best performance for OA. Possibly, the larger size of K^(+) increased the alkalinity of the electrode surface, facilitating OA deprotonation. LiOH electrolyte reduced the solubility of OA, thereby inhibiting the decarboxylation reaction. SO^(4)^(2−) exhibited a weak promoting effect on the decarboxylation reaction of OA, while Cl^(−) showed no adverse effect although Cl^(−) may adsorb on the electrode surface. Furthermore, unlike short-chain fatty acids, medium-chain OA can only achieve efficient decarboxylation under alkaline conditions due to its solubility properties. This study provides references and foundations for future efforts to enhance the efficiency of electrochemical decarboxylation synthesis of hydrocarbon biofuels from medium-chain fatty acids.

关 键 词：Fatty acids Kolbe reaction DECARBOXYLATION HYDROCARBON ELECTROLYTE 

分 类 号：O64[理学—物理化学]