Formaldehyde is a platform chemical used for example in the syntheses of polymers and complex molecules. The current formaldehyde synthesis relies on high temperatures to produce an aqueous solution, which requires energy intensive water removal for its use as a C1 building block. In this work, we report the successful electrification of the direct synthesis of anhydrous formaldehyde from methanol. Sustainable formaldehyde is produced with Faraday efficiencies of 80% in an H-cell and even up to 90% and elevated current densities in a scaled-up flow reactor. Comparing different reaction conditions, we furthermore show an impact of the current density and electrolyte concentration on the prevalent reaction mechanism. Our study demonstrates a selective and efficient electrochemical synthesis of dry formaldehyde at relevant scales, paving the way for green industrial production processes.

中文翻译：

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无水甲醇可持续电化学合成干燥甲醛

甲醛是一种平台化学品，用于合成聚合物和复杂分子等。目前的甲醛合成依赖于高温来产生水溶液，这需要能源密集型的除水才能用作 C1 结构单元。在这项工作中，我们报道了从甲醇直接合成无水甲醛的成功电气化。在 H 电池中，法拉第效率高达 80%，在放大的流动反应器中，法拉第效率甚至高达 90%，并且电流密度更高。比较不同的反应条件，我们进一步展示了电流密度和电解质浓度对普遍反应机制的影响。我们的研究证明了在相关规模下选择性、高效地电化学合成干甲醛，为绿色工业生产过程铺平了道路。