Upcycling PET Coupled with Energy‐Saving H ₂ Production from Seawater at Asymmetric Active Center

Abstract

Abstract Electrochemically upcycling polyethylene‐terephthalate (PET)‐derived ethylene glycol (EG) into high‐value glycolic acid (GA) with H 2 production elegantly addresses the dual challenges of clean energy production and plastic recycling. Herein, an electrocatalyst of Ru‐(CoCu) 2 V 2 O 7 @Cu 2 O is reported, where the Co─O─Ru asymmetric active center triggers the dynamic electronic delocalization is constructed. Such innovative design facilitates the designated bonding of key intermediates for * OCCH 2 OH and * OH at the Ru and Co sites during EG oxidation reactions (EGOR), respectively, while maintaining the integrity of C─C bond. As a result, the Ru‐(CoCu) 2 V 2 O 7 @Cu 2 O demonstrates remarkable performance for EGOR, requiring only 0.68 V @RHE to reach 100 mA cm −2 , reducing energy consumption by 60.1% compared to the traditional oxygen evolution. Notably, under industrial conditions (1.0 V @RHE , ≈600 mA cm −2 ), it still maintains a Faraday efficiency of 96.6% and a selectivity of 93.5% for GA, breaking through the performance bottleneck of existing catalytic systems. Implemented at 200 mA cm −2 in a flow cell, this system converts PET hydrolysate into GA (0.0299 mmol min −1 ) and produces H 2 (1.531 mL min −1 ) from natural seawater simultaneously, with exceptional stability of <12% decay after 120 h at 100 mA cm −2 . This work establishes an innovative paradigm for synergistic plastic upcycling and green hydrogen production.