Industrial‐Scale High‐Selectivity Plastic Upgrading with Stability Exceeding 1000 h over Distorted PtPdTe Nanosheets

Abstract

ABSTRACT The electrocatalytic ethylene glycol (EG) oxidation to value‐added chemicals is highly desirable for profitable resource utilization, yet encounters a low yield rate and poor durability. Herein, a class of highly distorted PtPdTe nanosheets (PtPdTe‐a) with modulated electronic states and oxophilicity is prepared by reconstructing layered PtPdTe dichalcogenide and delivers a record mass activity (11.78 A mg Pt+Pd −1 ) toward EG oxidation reaction with high glycolic acid (GA) Faradaic efficiency (96.7%). Mechanistic investigations reveal that PtPdTe‐a features a strong p‐d coupling effect for facilitating the formation and adsorption of hydroxyl adspecies to accelerate the oxidation of carbonyl intermediates, thereby avoiding over‐oxidation and switching the pathway toward desired C2 direction. We further demonstrate the unprecedented stability of PtPdTe‐a‐based electrolyzer for over 1000 h (> 150 mA cm −2 ). The scale‐up electrolyzer can achieve GA electrosynthesis with a record yield rate of 5.04 mmol cm −2 h −1 and a very high initial current density of over 800 mA cm −2 from the upgrading of PET. Our new strategy can produce 422.36 g of terephthalic acid, 904.08 g of Na 2 SO 4 , and 112.69 g of GA from 500 g of PET with a profit of about $880.23 ton −1 PET. Besides, PtPdTe‐a is highly efficient for ethanol oxidation into acetic acid with excellent selectivity.