Development of ordered mesoporous carbon-based electrodes for the electrocatalytic oxidation of furfural

The electrocatalytic valorization of furfural, a key biomass-derived platform molecule, offers a sustainable pathway for the synthesis of value-added chemicals under mild conditions. In this study, we report the development and application of nanostructured carbon-based electrodes, synthesized via a hard templating approach using SBA-15 silica and carbon precursors (furfuryl alcohol, FA, and glycerol, GLY), for the electro-oxidation of furfural. The resulting ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCFA and OMCGLY), along with a gold nanoparticle-decorated variant (Au@OMCGLY), were thoroughly characterized by XRD, N2 physisorption, SEM-EDX, and Raman spectroscopy to elucidate their structural, textural, and electrochemical properties. Electrochemical performance was evaluated in a microflow cell under acidic and alkaline conditions, with 0.25 M HClO4 as the optimized electrolyte for selective conversion. Among the tested electrodes, OMCGLY exhibits the highest Faradaic efficiency (83%) towards 5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (5-HFN), outperforming both the benchmark reduced graphene oxide and the Au-modified OMCGLY, the latter favoring maleic acid formation at higher potentials. Structure-activity relationships suggest that enhanced surface area, pore structure, and graphitic character of OMCGLY synergistically contribute to its superior catalytic behavior. These findings demonstrate the potential of tailored mesoporous carbon architectures as efficient and sustainable electrocatalysts for biomass upgrading.