Solar Photoelectrochemical Synthesis of Electrolyte-free H2O2 Aqueous Solution without Needing Electrical Bias and H2
SCIE
SCOPUS
- Title
- Solar Photoelectrochemical Synthesis of Electrolyte-free H2O2 Aqueous Solution without Needing Electrical Bias and H2
- Authors
- JEON, TAEHWA; KIM, BUPMO; KIM, CHUHYUNG; XIA, CHUAN; WANG, HAOTIAN; ALVAREZ, PEDRO J. J.; CHOI, WONYONG
- Date Issued
- 2021-05-01
- Publisher
- Royal Society of Chemistry
- Abstract
- The conventional synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) such as heterogeneous catalytic and electrochemical processes requires H-2 and O-2 as reagents, costly noble metals, and organic solvents, which are energy/waste-intensive and hazardous. An alternative method of photoelectrochemical (PEC) synthesis that needs only water and sunlight is environment-friendly but its practical application is limited due to the energy-demanding method for the separation of the synthesized H2O2 from the electrolytes. Herein, we demonstrated the direct synthesis of an electrolyte-free aqueous solution of pure H2O2 by developing a PEC system with solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) and engineered electrodes. Ruthenium catalyst-decorated TiO2 nanorods (RuOx/TNR: photoanode) and anthraquinone-anchored graphite rods (AQ/G: cathode) are placed in an anode compartment and a cathode compartment, respectively, while a middle compartment containing SPE is located between these compartments. Upon solar simulating irradiation (AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm(-2)), the photoanode generates H+ ions via water oxidation reaction (WOR) and the cathode generates HO2- ions via two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), while the SPE selectively transports H+ and HO2- into the middle compartment to form pure H2O2 solution. The combined system enabled continuous H2O2 synthesis over 100 h even under bias-free (0.0 V of cell voltage) conditions with the production of similar to 80 mM H2O2 (electrolyte-free) and a faradaic efficiency of similar to 90%, which is the highest concentration of pure H2O2 obtained using PEC systems. This study successfully demonstrates the proof-of-concept that might enable the production of a concentrated pure (electrolyte-free) aqueous solution of H2O2 using sunlight, water, and dioxygen only.
- Keywords
- Cathodes; Electrolytic reduction; Hydrogen peroxide; Ketones; Nanorods; Oxide minerals; Oxygen reduction reaction; Photoelectrochemical cells; Ruthenium compounds; Solid electrolytes; Titanium dioxide; Conventional synthesis; Electrochemical process; Environment friendly; Faradaic efficiencies; Photoelectrochemicals; Proof of concept; Ruthenium catalysts; Solid polymer electrolytes; Polyelectrolytes; aqueous solution; chemical reaction; concentration (composition); detection method; electrical power; electrochemical method; electrode; electrolyte; hydrogen peroxide; oxidant; oxidation; petrochemical industry; separation; solar power
- URI
- https://oasis.postech.ac.kr/handle/2014.oak/106849
- DOI
- 10.1039/d0ee03567j
- ISSN
- 1754-5692
- Article Type
- Article
- Citation
- Energy and Environmental Sciences, vol. 14, no. 5, page. 3110 - 3119, 2021-05-01
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