Congratulations to Kaiyue Ji’s article for being highlighted by Nature Synthesis

Single-atom efficiency

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) can be sustainably produced from the hydrolysis of sugars, and then reduced to 2,5-dihydroxymethylfuran (DHMF), an important polymer precursor. At present, the HMF to DHMF transformation is carried out using H₂ at high pressures and temperatures. In contrast, electrochemical reduction can proceed under atmospheric conditions, leading to a more sustainable synthetic route.

Haohong Duan and co-workers report a Ru₁Cu single-atom catalyst which exhibits efficient HMF to DHMF conversion with high faradaic efficiency (FE) at low potentials.

For more details, please visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s44160-022-00161-x