Proton Sponge Tailoring of Interfacial H‐Bond Networks Enables Seawater Electrosynthesis for Concomitant Alkenol and Mg(OH) <sub>2</sub>
Seawater electrolysis provides a sustainable hydrogen source for electrocatalytic semi-hydrogenation (ECSH) of alkynols, but it suffers from severe hydrogen evolution and a lack of effective interfacial management. Here, we construct a proton sponge (1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene) modified PdIn intermetallic metallene (Pd<sub>1</sub>In<sub>1</sub>ene@DMAN). In situ FTIR and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations reveal that this modification disrupts the hydrogen-bond network of interfacial water molecules, while DFT calculations indicate facilitated water dissociation and enhanced generation of active hydrogen species. The Pd<sub>1</sub>In<sub>1</sub>ene@DMAN achieves a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 94.43% for 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBE) production at -100 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>, a dramatic increase from the 44.93% attained by the Pd<sub>1</sub>In<sub>1</sub>ene, with an operational stability over 500 h. In a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) electrolyzer, it enables the efficient conversion of alkynol to alkenol at a current of 2 A, delivering a FE of 84.16%, a selectivity of 98.54% toward MBE, and excellent stability for up to 200 h. Concurrently, the cathodically generated OH<sup>-</sup> selectively precipitates Mg<sup>2+</sup> as high-purity Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub> by precise pH control, enabling the co-production of value-added MBE and Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub>. This work establishes a seawater-based electrochemical system, which regulates the hydrogen bond microenvironment through molecular interface engineering, providing a new strategy for efficient electrochemical hydrogenation in complex media.
Authors
- Ruidong Yang
- Yan Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0758-9458)
- Linlin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7014-2149)
- Hao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6881-9977)
- Ningxin Xiao
- Shaojian Jiang
- Jiabing Geng
- Kai Deng
- Hongjie Yu
Institutions
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2026-02-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.72628
- Primary Topic
- Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00