Phosphorus-Induced Electron Pump Enhances O<sub>2</sub> Activation for Electrocatalytic H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> Production
Yingbi Chen, Qingguo Feng, Yu Bai, Meng Wang, Yuchao Wang, Peiyao Yang, Danni Deng, Xinran Zheng, Jiabi Jiang, Haitao Zheng, Guozhao Fang, Yi Zeng, Xiang Xiong, Yongpeng Lei
Abstract
Electrochemical two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e – ORR) to produce hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is attractive, but poor H 2 O 2 selectivity and activity need to be overcome. Herein, a phosphorus-induced electron pump is demonstrated. The H 2 O 2 selectivity reaches >90% (93.5% at 0.5 V) in the potential range of 0.2∼0.7 V. The Faradaic efficiency achieves 94.2% at 0.6 V. In situ Raman experiment and density functional theory calculation indicate that the O 2 adsorption and activation are enhanced. The *OOH intermediates are formed at a more positive potential. Furthermore, the universal mechanism of the electron pump is extended. At last, the potential to degrade antibiotics, Escherichia coli, etc., on site is confirmed. This work displays that the phosphorus-induced electron pump activates O 2, which provides an insight into the electrocatalytic 2e – ORR.