Boosting electrochemical oxygen reduction to hydrogen peroxide coupled with organic oxidation

Yining Sun, Kui Fan, Jinze Li, Lei Wang, Yusen Yang, Zhenhua Li (), Mingfei Shao () and Xue Duan
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Yining Sun: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Kui Fan: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Jinze Li: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Lei Wang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Yusen Yang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Zhenhua Li: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Mingfei Shao: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Xue Duan: Beijing University of Chemical Technology

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is appealing due to its sustainability. However, its efficiency is compromised by the competing 4e− ORR pathway. In this work, we report a hierarchical carbon nanosheet array electrode with a single-atom Ni catalyst synthesized using organic molecule-intercalated layered double hydroxides as precursors. The electrode exhibits excellent 2e− ORR performance under alkaline conditions and achieves H2O2 yield rates of 0.73 mol gcat−1 h−1 in the H-cell and 5.48 mol gcat−1 h−1 in the flow cell, outperforming most reported catalysts. The experimental results show that the Ni atoms selectively adsorb O2, while carbon nanosheets generate reactive hydrogen species, synergistically enhancing H2O2 production. Furthermore, a coupling reaction system integrating the 2e− ORR with ethylene glycol oxidation significantly enhances H2O2 yield rate to 7.30 mol gcat−1 h−1 while producing valuable glycolic acid. Moreover, we convert alkaline electrolyte containing H2O2 directly into the downstream product sodium perborate to reduce the separation cost further. Techno-economic analysis validates the economic viability of this system.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50446-2

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