Highly efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of furfural to maleic acid over MOF-derived MnCeOx

Efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of furfural to maleic acid (MA) is highly attractive, but challenging. Designing robust and cost-effective catalysts is the key for application. Herein, a bimetallic oxide catalyst (MnCeOx) was constructed by pyrolyzing the corresponding metal–organic framework (MOF) precursor. It was found that the obtained MnCeOx exhibited superior catalytic performance for electro-oxidation of furfural to produce MA, and the MA yield could reach 67.4% at an applied potential of 1.7 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Systematic investigations revealed that the excellent performance of MnCeOx originated from its suitable ability of forming surface oxygen vacancies, which could enhance the furfural adsorption on the active interfacial region of MnCeOx, thereby leading to the high catalytic activity of MnCeOx.