Recent Advances with Biomass‐Derived Carbon‐Based Catalysts for the High‐Efficiency Electrochemical Reduction of Oxygen to Hydrogen Peroxide
Yuan Wang, Haihong Zhong, Weiting Yang, Yongjun Feng, Nicolás Alonso‐Vante
Abstract
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) plays a pivotal role in electrochemical energy conversion and chemical production. Two‐electron (2e − ) charge transfer for oxygen reduction is considered a promising method for the on‐site production of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), which requires electrocatalysts with high H 2 O 2 selectivity and ORR activity. Noble metal alloys (e.g., Pt‐Hg and Pd‐Hg) have been prevalent materials of choice due to their desirable intrinsic activity, but their scarcity and high cost seriously hinder their widespread application in practice. Self‐doped heteroatomic carbon‐based electrocatalysts, derived from abundant and inexpensive biomass, have emerged as attractive candidates for on‐site H 2 O 2 production. This review summarizes the fundamentals and recent advances in H 2 O 2 production via 2e − ORR, including basic catalytic mechanisms, the influence of electrolyte pH and porous structure of catalysts, selectivity assessment methods, determination of the cumulative H 2 O 2 concentration, development of biomass‐derived carbon‐based catalyst, and electrochemical device designs. Current challenges and proposed opportunities are also presented with an emphasis on large‐scale electrochemical H 2 O 2 synthesis.