Confined local oxygen gas promotes electrochemical water oxidation to hydrogen peroxide

Two-electron water oxidation process provides a promising route for renewable and onsite production of hydrogen peroxide as an alternative to the anthraquinone process. However, the efficiency of the developed catalysts is hampered by low selectivity due to strong competition from the traditional four-electron oxygen evolution reaction, as well as large overpotential and low production rates. In this publication Dr. Siahrostami’s experimental collaborator from Rice Universities, Dr. Hotian Wang, designed an interfacial engineering approach, whereby coating the catalyst with hydrophobic polymers allowed in situ confinement of produced O₂ gas and thereby successfully tuned the water oxidation reaction pathway. The newly designed system outperformed previous reports in terms of selectivity and activity. Dr. Siharostami’s team used ab initio density functional theory calculations to shed light on the mechanism of this enhancement at the atomic scale.

Read the full publication here.