Effective Hydrogen Peroxide Production from Electrochemical Water Oxidation
Sotirios Mavrikis, Maximilian Göltz, Samuel C. Perry, Felix Bogdan, Pui Ki Leung, Stefan Rosiwal, Ling Wang, Carlos Ponce de León
Abstract
The two-electron water oxidation reaction (2e– WOR) is progressively gaining traction as a sustainable approach for in situ electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). State-of-the-art 2e– WOR electrocatalysts have shown great promise at low electrical currents yet exhibit diminished electrocatalytic capabilities at larger current densities. Herein, by tailoring the boron doping level of boron-doped diamond (BDD) microfilms, we have fabricated an active, selective, and stable electrocatalyst for the 2e– WOR. Experimentally, we find that our modulated BDD films achieve a peak faradaic efficiency of 87%, as well as a record H2O2 production rate of 76.4 μmol cm–2 min–1, while maintaining a stable electrochemical performance for 10 h at 200 mA cm–2 in carbonate-based solutions. The results reported in this work firmly establish BDD as a primary catalyst candidate for large-scale implementation of the 2e– WOR and synchronously unlock new research avenues for the next-generation design of sp3-structured carbonaceous materials for anodic H2O2 electrosynthesis from water.