Engineering the Solid–Liquid Interface of Carbon Electrodes for Enhanced Organic Electrosynthesis

Electrosynthesis provides a sustainable, energy-efficient
platform
for valorizing biomass-derived chemicals under mild and environmentally
benign conditions. However, its industrial deployment remains limited
by low reaction rates and productivity, often constrained by conventional
two-dimensional electrodes. Here, we engineer a porous carbon felt
cathode to enhance productivity in electrochemical flow reactors for
the hydrogenation of cis,cis-muconic
acid, a renewable platform diacid key to biobased nylon production.
By precisely tuning the surface functionality and hydrophilicity of
the carbon felt, we enhance adsorption and charge transfer kinetics
at the solid–liquid interface, achieving a 30-fold increase
in productivity and a 45% reduction in cell potential at an industrially
relevant current density of 200 mA cm–2. These findings
underscore the transformative opportunities of engineered carbon electrodes
for advancing scalable and sustainable electrosynthesis of commodity
and specialty chemicals.