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