CoFe bimetallic phosphide fabricated by topological transformation strategy for efficient electrooxidation of benzyl alcohol

Abstract

Rational design of effective non-precious metallic electrocatalysts is crucial for electrooxidation of benzyl alcohol (BA) producing benzoic acid (BAC). Herein, CoFe bimetallic phosphide (CoFeP-m) with bimetallic synergy, fully exposed active sites, and fast charge transfer was fabricated by topological transformation of CoFe-LDH for the efficient electrooxidation of BA to BAC under mild condition. Under the optimal conditions of starting voltage of 0.7 V vs. Ag/AgCl at 25oC, CoFeP-300 achieved 97.71% transformation of BA and 97.84% BAC's selectivity for 8 h. In addition, CoFeP-300 showed excellent stability which maintained 95.89% transform into BA and 95.37% BAC's selectivity at the sixth cycle.