3D-Printed Electrolyzer for the Conversion of Glycerol into Tartronate on Pd Nanocubes

Abstract

Glycerol is a massive byproduct of biodiesel fabrication, which decreases its price and increases the risks of inadequate disposal. In this sense, more environmentally friendly instruments and processes using glycerol are required to make this matrix more valuable. Here, a 3D-printed electrolyzer was developed and tested for long-period glycerol electrolysis in an alkaline medium. The new electrolyzer contains only three mobile parts and can be manufactured in less than 4 h using ∼30 g of polylactic acid filament, with a total cost of less than US $5. This easily built and inexpensive reduced-scale electrolyzer has the advantage of using only a few milliliters of solution to perform tests for electrosynthesis. We synthesized Pd nanocubes to modify a glassy carbon working electrode, which was used for glycerol electrolysis. We found a remarkable selectivity of 99% toward tartronate production, which was induced by the extended (100) surface of Pd in the alkaline medium. Hence, we report a new 3D-printed platform for electrosynthesis and a new clean one-step method to produce tartronate.

Decorating Pt/C Nanoparticles with Ru by Wall‐Jet Configuration: The Role of Coverage Degree on the Catalyst Activity for Glycerol Electrooxidation

“…The elution is performed in isocratic mode from 0.25 to 0.4 mL min −1 for a total time of 20 min. The quantification is based on an external calibration curve as we described elsewhere and illustrated in Figure S10. The evaluation of the pathways is based on the following set of possible products: oxalic acid, tatronic acid, formic acid, glyoxylic acid, dihydroxyacetone, glycolic acid, glyceric acid, and glyceraldehyde.…”

“…Glycerol is a surplus byproduct of biodiesel production, which requires application in order to avoid inadequate disposal and to increase its market price . The presence of three hydrated carbons in its chain makes this alcohol a possible fuel for fuel cells and potential substrate for electrolysis . However, challenges must be surpassed to allow high energy production and/or selective electrolysis, indicating a need for new catalysts.…”

The development of a fully integrated 3D printed electrochemical platform and its application to investigate the chemical reaction between carbon dioxide and hydrazine

“…Low expenses and wide availability of printers render the FDM particularly suitable for the manufacture of cells. Most frequently used filaments are polylactic acid (PLA), [8 , 7 , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] polypropylene [30 – 32] , and polyesters [33] . Cells manufactured by FDM 3DP involve multitude of functionalities and have found use in a broad range of electrochemical processes and applications, which are summarized in Table 1 .…”

Insulating 3D-printed templates are turned into metallic electrodes: application as electrodes for glycerol electrooxidation

“…2,6,7 Our group printed a three-parts electrolyzer with an approximate cost of US $5. 8 This device was used with Pd-nanocubes-modied glassy carbon as working electrode to convert glycerol into tartronate. 8 Concerning microuidics, 3D-printing is already considered a revolution in microuidics, due to the ability of partially or completely replacing poly(dimethylsiloxane) pieces built by so lithography.…”

“…8 This device was used with Pd-nanocubes-modied glassy carbon as working electrode to convert glycerol into tartronate. 8 Concerning microuidics, 3D-printing is already considered a revolution in microuidics, due to the ability of partially or completely replacing poly(dimethylsiloxane) pieces built by so lithography. 9 FDM technique has recently opened up the possibility of printing conductors, which can be used as electrodes for a variety of applications.…”