Efficient Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Glycerol via Promoted OH∗ Generation over Single-Atom-Bismuth-Doped Spinel Co₃O₄

The renewable electricity-driven electrocatalytic oxidation of biomass represents a pathway to produce value-added chemicals from waste biomass such as glycerol (a byproduct of industrial biodiesel production). However, it remains difficult to design an efficient electrocatalyst with explicit structure-property relationships. Herein, we report a single-atom bismuth (Bi)-doping strategy to endow Co₃O₄with enhanced activity and selectivity toward electrocatalytic glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR). Experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations reveal that single-atom Bi substitutes cobalt at octahedral sites (CoOh³⁺) in Co₃O₄, facilitating the generation of reactive hydroxyl species (OH*) at adjacent tetrahedral Co sites (CoTd²⁺). Mechanism studies demonstrate that OH∗ accelerates the oxidation of hydroxyl groups and carbon-carbon (C-C) bond cleavage, achieving GOR activity (400 mA cm^-2at 1.446 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE) and high faradaic efficiency of formate (97.05 ± 2.55%). Our study shows a promising way to promote the electro-oxidation activity of spinel oxides for biomass valorization by a single-atom doping strategy.