Work

Surfactant-enhanced Cuδ+ and induced electrostatic forces promote the electrocatalytic deuteron-dechlorination of trichloroacetic acid

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Electrocatalytic deuteron-dechlorination of trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) in D2O provides a green route to synthesize commercial acetic-d3 acid-d (AA-d4). Synthesizing AA-d4 with a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) and reaction rate is highly challenging because of the difficult C-Cl bond deuteration of the 2-monochloroacetic-2,2-d2 acid-d (MCAA-d3) intermediate. Here, a quaternary ammonium salt surfactant-modified low-coordination copper electrocatalyst was designed, achieving TCAA-to-AA-d4 with a 91% selectivity, 91% FE and 0.59 mmol h−1 reaction rate at -100 mA cm−2. Mechanistic and kinetics studies reveal that the surfactant enhances the adsorption of MCAA-d3 through the electrostatic force and heightens the electron deficiency of Cuδ+ sites, which accelerates the electron transfer and promotes the C-Cl bond activation, increasing the AA-d4 selectivity. Surfactant-caused low D2O coverage suppresses D2 formation, improving the FE. 1.84 g AA-d4 electrosynthesis with a 30 mmol h−1 reaction rate and 65% FE at 600 mA cm−2 and deuterated drug applications demonstrate promising potential.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65333-7

Authors: Mengmei Qin, Meng He, Chuanqi Cheng, Rui Li, Cuibo Liu, Bin Zhang

Institution: Tianjin University

Language: English

Topic: Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion

Subfield: Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Field: Energy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $6,990

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Tianjin University, Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility