Scalable electrosynthesis of propionic acid <italic style="font-style: italic">via</italic> 1-propanol oxidation on nickel hydroxide electrodes in a diaphragmless electrolytic cell

Zhang Nan; Ji Shan; Wang Xuyun; Ma Xianguo; Vladimir Linkov; Wang Rongfang; Wang Hui

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Scalable electrosynthesis of propionic acid via 1-propanol oxidation on nickel hydroxide electrodes in a diaphragmless electrolytic cell

Updated：2026-09-17

- Scalable electrosynthesis of propionic acid via 1-propanol oxidation on nickel hydroxide electrodes in a diaphragmless electrolytic cell
- Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 95, Issue 7, Pages: 90-101(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
  College of Biological Chemical Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, China
  School of Chemical Engineering, Guizhou Institute of Technology, Guiyang 550003, China
  South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, 7535, South Africa
- Author bio：
  
  *Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses:jishan@zjxu.edu.cn(S. Ji)
  *Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses:wangxy@qust.edu.cn(X. Wang)
  *Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses:wangh@qust.edu.cn(H. Wang).
- Funds：
- DOI：
  CLC：
- Received：28 October 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-01-13，
  
  Accepted：16 January 2026，
  
  Online First：14 March 2026，
  
  Published：2026-07
- Accepted：
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Zhang Nan, Ji Shan, Wang Xuyun, et al. Scalable electrosynthesis of propionic acid via 1-propanol oxidation on nickel hydroxide electrodes in a diaphragmless electrolytic cell[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2026, 95(7): 90-101.
DOI：

Zhang Nan, Ji Shan, Wang Xuyun, et al. Scalable electrosynthesis of propionic acid via 1-propanol oxidation on nickel hydroxide electrodes in a diaphragmless electrolytic cell[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2026, 95(7): 90-101. DOI：

摘要

Abstract

Biomass valorization

via

electrosynthesis offers an eco-friendly route under mild conditions. Herein

propionic acid from 1-propanol was produced on nickel hydroxide electrodes (Ni(OH)

/NF) using the 1propanol precursor in a diaphragmless electrolytic cell. Systematic optimization of key operational parameters―including current density

NaOH concentration

1-propanol concentration

and reaction time―was carried out to maximize product efficiency. Under optimal operating conditions (0.35 mol·L

- 1

of 1-propanol

0.5 mol·L

- 1

of NaOH

40 mA·cm

- 2

of current density and 5 h of reaction time)

this multivariate strategy achieved a Faradaic efficiency of 94.11% and a yield of 70.42% for propionic acid. Notably

scalability was validated through gram-scale synthesis in a single batch

producing tens of grams of propionic acid and highlighting the practical viability of the diaphragmless configuration. Combined electrochemical analyses and density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate the reaction mechanism

revealing that Ni(OH)

/NF facilitates the dehydrogenation and oxidative coupling steps critical to selective propionic acid formation. This study not only establishes a green and efficient route for value-added chemical pr

oduction from biomass-derived alcohols but also demonstrates the industrial potential of diaphragmless electrolytic systems.

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Scalable electrosynthesis of propionic acid via 1-propanol oxidation on nickel hydroxide electrodes in a diaphragmless electrolytic cell

DOI：

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references