Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction to Produce Hydrogen Peroxide: Rational Design from Single-Atom Catalysts to Devices

Yueyu Tong; Liqun Wang; Feng Hou; Shi Xue Dou; Ji Liang

doi:10.1007/s41918-022-00163-5

Electrochemical Energy Reviews ›› 2022, Vol. 5 ›› Issue (3) DOI: 10.1007/s41918-022-00163-5

Review Article

Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction to Produce Hydrogen Peroxide: Rational Design from Single-Atom Catalysts to Devices

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¹Key Laboratory for Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

²Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, Australian Institute of Innovative Materials, University of Wollongong, Innovation Campus, Squires Way, 2500, North Wollongong, NSW, Australia

³Applied Physics Department, College of Physics and Materials Science, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China

^e liangji@tju.edu.cn

Yueyu Tong

received her Master degree from Zhejiang University. Now, she is a Ph.D. student in the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, supervised by Prof. Shi Xue Dou and Prof. Ji Liang. She is focusing on the design and fabrication of advanced nanomaterials for renewable energy conversion and storage.

Dr. Liqun Wang

is currently a lecturer in the College of Physics and Materials Science at Tianjin Normal University. He received his Ph.D. degree from Tianjin University in 2013. His recent research interests focus on the nano-sized semiconductor materials for energy conversion applications, including water splitting, CO₂ reduction, and nitrogen fixation.

received his Ph.D. degree from the Tianjin University in 2001. Later, he joined the faculty of School of Materials Science and Engineering in Tianjin University. His research interests focus on energy conversion and storage materials, including photo(electro)catalysts for water splitting/CO₂ reduction/nitrogen fixation, electrode materials for secondary batteries and supercapacitors.

Prof. Shi Xue Dou

is the founder and former director of Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, and a Distinguished Professor at the University of Wollongong. He received his Ph.D. degree in chemistry in 1984 at Dalhousie University, Canada and his D.Sc. at the University of New South Wales in 1998. He was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering in 1994. He is a program leader for the Automotive Corporative Research Center-2020.

Prof. Ji Liang

received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Adelaide in 2014. After a T. S. Ke fellowship in the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a DECRA fellowship in the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials of the University of Wollongong in Australia, he joined Tianjin University as a full professor. His research interests lie in the design of functional carbon-based materials for electrochemical catalysis and energy storage applications.

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Abstract

Electrocatalytic production of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) via the 2e⁻ transfer route of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) offers a promising alternative to the energy-intensive anthraquinone process, which dominates current industrial-scale production of H₂O₂. The availability of cost-effective electrocatalysts exhibiting high activity, selectivity, and stability is imperative for the practical deployment of this process. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) featuring the characteristics of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts are particularly well suited for H₂O₂ synthesis and thus, have been intensively investigated in the last few years. Herein, we present an in-depth review of the current trends for designing SACs for H₂O₂ production via the 2e⁻ ORR route. We start from the electronic and geometric structures of SACs. Then, strategies for regulating these isolated metal sites and their coordination environments are presented in detail, since these fundamentally determine electrocatalytic performance. Subsequently, correlations between electronic structures and electrocatalytic performance of the materials are discussed. Furthermore, the factors that potentially impact the performance of SACs in H₂O₂ production are summarized. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for rational design of more targeted H₂O₂-producing SACs are highlighted. We hope this review will present the latest developments in this area and shed light on the design of advanced materials for electrochemical energy conversion.

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Yueyu Tong, Liqun Wang, Feng Hou, Shi Xue Dou, Ji Liang. Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction to Produce Hydrogen Peroxide: Rational Design from Single-Atom Catalysts to Devices. Electrochemical Energy Reviews, 2022, 5(3): DOI:10.1007/s41918-022-00163-5