Effect of Nitrogen Species in Graphite Carbon Nitride on Hydrogen Peroxide Production
Zhaojing Yang, Chengxu Zhang, Yunjie Mei, Yue Zhang, Yuebin Feng, Minhua Shao, Jue Hu
Abstract
Abstract Electrochemical oxygen reduction for producing clean hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is a promising alternative approach to the industrial anthraquinone method. At present, the most pressing challenge is the development of oxygen reduction electrocatalysts with sufficient activity, stability, and 2e − pathway selectivity. Here, the electrocatalytic properties of a series of graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C 3 N 4 ) catalysts with different concentrations of nitrogen species (CNC and N(C) 3 ) are explored for H 2 O 2 production. Electrochemical studies show that the selectivity of g‐C 3 N 4 for hydrogen peroxide generation in alkaline electrolytes reaches ≈90%. To explain the observed results, the structure, composition, and physical and chemical properties of g‐C 3 N 4 catalysts synthesized from different precursors are compared with their electrocatalytic performance. This research contributes to the discovery and design of a high‐performance nitrogen‐doped carbon catalysts for the production of hydrogen peroxide.