Electrochemically Synthesized HO at Industrial-level Current Densities Enabled by in Situ Fabricated Few-layer Boron Nanosheets

Overview

Journal Nat Commun

Specialty Biology

Date 2024 Dec 31

PMID 39737981

Authors

Yuhan Wu

YuYing Zhao

Qixin Yuan

Hao Sun

Ao Wang

Kang Sun

Geoffrey I N Waterhouse

Ziyun Wang

Jingjie Wu

Jianchun Jiang

Mengmeng Fan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Carbon nanomaterials show outstanding promise as electrocatalysts for hydrogen peroxide (HO) synthesis via the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction. However, carbon-based electrocatalysts that are capable of generating HO at industrial-level current densities (>300 mA cm) with high selectivity and long-term stability remain to be discovered. Herein, few-layer boron nanosheets are in-situ introduced into a porous carbon matrix, creating a metal-free electrocatalyst (B-C) with HO production rates of industrial relevance in neutral or alkaline media. B-C maintained > 95% Faradaic efficiency during a 140-hour test at 300 mA cm and 0.1 V vs. RHE, and delivered a mass activity of 25.1 mol g h in 1.0 M NaSO using a flow cell. Theoretical simulations and experimental studies demonstrate that the superior catalytic performance originates from B atoms with adsorbed O atoms in the boron nanosheets. B-C outperforms all metal-based and metal-free carbon catalysts reported to date for HO synthesis at industrial-level current densities.

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