Furfural is a biomaterial produced by processing biomass residues from the agricultural industry. Nowadays, this molecule is increasingly used due to the trend to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. Through reduction, it can serve as a source of biofuels and various intermediates in the chemical industry. In the electrochemical reduction of furfural, the main products are furfuryl alcohol, 2-methylfuran and hydrofuroin, which is formed in negligible amounts in acidic media. Apart from the electrochemical reduction of furfural, the most important side reaction is the generation of hydrogen from water, an undesirable process that must be minimized. To this end, I modified the electrode with methylpropylimidazolium dicyanamide, which exhibits increased selectivity in the reduction of organic substrates in heterogeneous catalysis. Using HPLC, I analyzed the amounts of furfuryl alcohol formed before and after the application of the dicyanamide anions and how the electrical current density changes with the modification of the electrode. I also checked how the dicyanamide layer on the electrode is retained.
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