Electrocatalytic Upcycling and Valorization

As a Research Fellow at NEWRI, my current work focuses on understanding — and improving — how economic activities such as chemical production and waste management affect the environment, with an emphasis on electrocatalytic valorization of waste and by-product streams.

In collaboration with colleagues at NTU, I contributed to a study on a thermo-electroreduction strategy for converting glycerol (a low-value by-product of biodiesel production) into propylene glycol at industrially relevant, ampere-level current densities. The approach combines thermal dehydration of glycerol to a hydroxyacetone intermediate with electrocatalytic hydrogenation over a Co-cluster-decorated Cu foam electrocatalyst, achieving Faradaic efficiencies of ~81% for propylene glycol even at current densities up to 1000 mA/cm² 1.

A related ongoing project examines vacancy-defective spinel NiCo2O4 electrocatalysts for the electrocatalytic upcycling of polybutylene succinate (PBS) plastics, leveraging high-valent Ni/Co species and tuned adsorbate binding to drive the degradation/upcycling process 2.

My role: Contributing author, supporting electrochemical characterization. Lead investigators: Huaiyu Chang, Jiahui Xian, and Dr Wan Ru Leow (NTU).

References

2026

Vacancy-defective spinel NiCo2O4 enables high-valent Ni/Co species and adsorbate binding for the electrocatalytic upcycling of polybutylene succinate plastics

Jiahui Xian, Ziyu Mi, Panyawut Tonanon, and 3 more authors

Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Jul 2026

2025

A thermo-electroreduction strategy unlocks propylene glycol synthesis from glycerol at ampere level current density

Huaiyu Chang, Longhai Zhang, Ziyu Mi, and 9 more authors

Nature Communications, Nov 2025

Abs DOI

The production of valuable chemicals from glycerol can alleviate its large market surplus and reduce emissions that arise from petrochemical-based feedstocks. Here we show that a thermo-electroreduction strategy can expand the scope of glycerol valorization to a product of higher effective H/C ratio, such as propylene glycol. The thermal dehydration of glycerol unlocks the hydroxyacetone intermediate, which can undergo subsequent electrocatalytic hydrogenation to propylene glycol using Co-cluster-decorated Cu foam electrocatalyst. Theoretical simulations suggest that Co/Cu modulates the adsorption configuration of hydroxyacetone, such that all functional groups are in similar distance from the surrounding water layer and the surface. This can facilitate low-energy-barrier hydrogenation of the O atom on hydroxyacetone by solvated H species through an Eley-Rideal-type mechanism, followed by spontaneous hydrogenation of the adjacent C atom. We thus achieve high Faradaic efficiencies towards propylene glycol of ~81% even at current densities up to 1000 mA/cm2.