Stabilizer-free bismuth nanoparticles for selective polyol electrooxidation

Abstract

Bismuth is the least toxic element among heavy metals, an outstanding advantage for environmental and health considerations. Yet, utilizing bismuth as anodic electrocatalyst is hindered by the formation of a spreading Bi(OH) 3 inhibitor layer during the anodic process. Herein, we report that bismuth nanoparticles, produced using laser ablation, can avoid such drawbacks. The production of Bi(V) species assists polyol electrooxidation. For glucose, instead of the commonly reported gluconic acid as the product, the Bi(V) species enables highly selective oxidation and C-C bond cleavage to produce arabinonic acid, erythronic acid, and eventually glyceric acid. We not only generate high-valent Bi(V) species for catalytic applications, especially for bioelectrocatalysis where the less toxic bismuth is highly appreciated, but also present Bi nanoparticle as a highly selective electrocatalyst that can break C-C bond. We believe that Bi electrocatalyst can find broader applications in electrochemical biomass conversion and electrosynthesis.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: The role of bismuth nanoparticles in the inhibition of bacterial infection

“…Polyol electrooxidation is facilitated by the generation of Bi(V) species. With the Bi(V) species, glucose undergoes more selective oxidation and C-C bond breakage, yielding arabinonic acid, erythronic acid, and ultimately glyceric acid instead of the more often observed gluconic acid as a result (Zheng et al 2021 ) …”

Atomic-layered V2C MXene containing bismuth elements: 2D/0D and 2D/2D nanoarchitectonics for hydrogen evolution and nitrogen reduction reaction

“…Specifically, these signals indicate the interconversion of species between Bi (0) and Bi (OH) 3 (or BiOOH) during the electrochemical reaction. 65 The broad cathodic peak that appears at −0.56 V is attributed to the reduction of Bi 3+ to metallic Bi. 66,67 This observation is consistent with the XRD results, which showed the presence of a small amount of Bi 2 O 3 in the V 2 C/Bi composite.…”

Regulation of Catalyst Immediate Environment Enables Acidic Electrochemical Benzyl Alcohol Oxidation to Benzaldehyde

“…In this report, as a model system, we chose to study BnOH electro-oxidation using a bismuth (Bi) electrocatalyst in an acidic medium. Previously, Bi was used as an electrocatalyst for the oxidation of organic molecules. , Moreover, Bi/bihydroxide was used as a promotor alongside additional metal (M = Pt abd Pd) (MBi x ) oxidation of different alcohols including BnOH, albeit to moderate selectivities. − However, selective oxidation of BnOH to the desired product remains challenging. Hence, to test our approach, we have coated a Bi-based electrocatalyst with a thin layer of Zr 6 -oxo-based MOF, UiO-66 .…”