3d Transition-Metal-Mediated Columbite Nanocatalysts for Decentralized Electrosynthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide

Decentralized electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) via oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) can enable applications in disinfection control, pulping and textile bleaching, wastewater treatment, and renewable energy storage. Transition metal oxides are usually not efficient catalysts because they are more selective to produce H2O. Here, it is shown that divalent 3d transition metal cations (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) can control the catalytic activity and selectivity of columbite nanoparticles. They are synthesized using polyoxoniobate (K7HNb6O19 center dot 13H(2)O) and divalent metal cations by a hydrothermal method. The optimal NiNb2O6 holds an H2O2 selectivity of 96% with the corresponding H2O2 Faradaic efficiency of 92% in a wide potential window from 0.2 to 0.6 V in alkaline electrolyte, superior to other transition metal oxide catalysts. Ex situ X-ray photoelectron and operando Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopic studies, together with density functional theory calculations, reveal that 3d transition metals shift the d-band center of catalytically active surface Nb atoms and change their interactions with ORR intermediates. In an application demonstration, NiNb2O6 delivers H2O2 productivity up to 1 mol(H2O2) g(cat)(-1) h(-1) in an H-shaped electrolyzer and can yield catholytes containing 300 x 10(-3) m H2O2 to efficiently decomposing several organic dyes. The low-cost 3d transition-metal-mediated columbite catalysts show excellent application potentials.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that divalent 3d transition metal cations can control the catalytic activity and selectivity of columbite nanoparticles for efficient electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide. The optimal NiNb2O6 catalyst exhibits excellent H2O2 selectivity and Faradaic efficiency in alkaline electrolyte, outperforming other transition metal oxide catalysts. In application demonstrations, NiNb2O6 shows high productivity in producing H2O2 and efficient decomposition of organic dyes, highlighting the great potential of low-cost 3d transition-metal-mediated columbite catalysts.