ACS Catalysis: Efficient Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂) Production Driven by Light and Ambient‑Air
Recently, the research group led by Professor Guiming Peng from Jiangxi Normal University has reported a significant breakthrough published in ACS Catalysis, a top‑tier journal in catalysis. The modified catalysts were evaluated using a DC DSR rotating ring‑disk electrode system coupled with an electrochemical workstation. By polarizing the electronic structure of carbon nitride, and further integrating a gas‑liquid‑solid three‑phase continuous‑flow photoreactor, the team achieved efficient, highly‑selective and continuous H₂O₂ production, setting a new performance record for this catalytic system.
论文DOI： 10.1021/acscatal.6c00507
Hydrogen peroxide (disinfectant) is widely used in daily‑life applications, environmental remediation and chemical industry. Nevertheless, its conventional anthraquinone synthesis suffers from high energy consumption and environmental pollution. Direct‑synthesis routes, by contrast, carry explosion risks and require costly noble‑metal catalysts. Solar‑driven photocatalytic H₂O₂ production has emerged as a promising green alternative. However, carbon nitride (CN) catalysts have long been constrained by three bottlenecks: poor charge separation, slow O₂ mass‑transfer and weak oxygen adsorption‑activation capability.
This work addresses these challenges via a two‑step strategy:
Catalyst modificationSulfonic acid and cyano groups are introduced into pristine carbon nitride to boost charge separation and strengthen oxygen‑capturing capacity.
Reactor optimizationA gas‑liquid‑solid three‑phase continuous‑flow device is constructed, enabling direct oxygen supply from the gas phase and accelerating mass‑transfer by 10 000‑fold.
Experimental Performance
- Enhanced yield: 41‑fold improvement over the pristine catalyst
- Selectivity: > 94 %, nearly exclusive H₂O₂ production with negligible by‑products
- Quantum efficiency: 36.5 % under 400 nm irradiation (state‑of‑the‑art performance)
- Continuous production: 4‑fold higher output in the three‑phase reactor compared with the conventional two‑phase system
- Excellent reusability: Negligible performance decay after repeated cycling
Experimental Methodology
This represents the gold‑standard test for evaluating H₂O₂ production selectivity, with simple and reproducible procedures:
- Equipment employedRotating ring‑disk‑electrode setup: DC DSR (PHYCHEMI), electrochemical workstationThree‑electrode system: working electrode (catalyst coated on glassy‑carbon disk), Ag/AgCl reference electrode, platinum‑sheet counter electrode