Direct electrochemical hydrogenation of toluene at Pt electrodes in a microemulsion electrolyte solution

•We demonstrated the direct electrochemical hydrogenation of toluene in a microemulsion solution.•We achieved a Faradaic efficiency of 80% for the toluene conversion at a Pt black electrode.•The reaction rate and selectivity depend strongly on the surface structure of Pt electrodes.

In the present study, we demonstrated a new concept for the direct electrochemical hydrogenation of toluene using an acidic microemulsion electrolyte with active Pt electrodes to pave the way for efficient methylcyclohexane mass production. We have achieved a Faradaic efficiency of 80% for the toluene/methylcyclohexane conversion at a Pt black electrode, under galvanostatic conditions and in a one-compartment cell. The reaction rate and selectivity of the toluene reduction were found to depend strongly on the surface structure of the Pt electrodes.

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