The Prospects of the in situ and ex situ Use of Aqueous Solutions of Hydrogen Peroxide Electrogenerated from Oxygen

The results and prospects of the in situ (in the cell volume) and ex situ (outside the cell) use of aqueous solutions of hydrogen peroxide electrogenerated from oxygen in gas-diffusion electrodes (GDE) of carbon black are discussed. It is shown that using GDE based on technological A-437E carbon (acetylene black) and mesostructured carbon CMK-3 allows the H(2)O(2)solution with the concentration higher than 3 M to be obtained. It is found that electrosynthesized hydrogen peroxide may be used in situ with the high efficiency both in the indirect electrosynthesis of important organic and inorganic target products and in the destruction of organic and inorganic pollutants present in waste waters of different origin. Under the ex situ conditions, it is possible to synthesize the more concentrated solutions of H2O2, organic peroxoacids, and inorganic peroxosolvates and also to carry out mineralization of exometabolites in autonomous life-support systems. These results may be helpful in selecting the most appropriate versions of using hydrogen peroxide solutions electrogenerated from oxygen for solving particular problems.