Unassisted selective solar hydrogen peroxide production by an oxidised buckypaper-integrated perovskite photocathode

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an eco-friendly oxidant and a promising energy source possessing comparable energy density to that of compressed H-2. The current H2O2 production strategies mostly depend on the anthraquinone oxidation process, which requires significant energy and numerous organic chemicals. Photocatalyst-based solar H2O2 production comprises single-step O-2 reduction to H2O2, which is a simple and eco-friendly method. However, the solar-to-H2O2 conversion efficiency is limited by the low performance of the inorganic semiconductor-based photoelectrodes and low selectivity and stability of the H2O2 production electrocatalyst. Herein, we demonstrate unassisted solar H2O2 production using an oxidised buckypaper as the H2O2 electrocatalyst combined with a high-performance inorganic-organic hybrid (perovskite) photocathode, without the need for additional bias or sacrificial agents. This integrated photoelectrode system shows 100% selectivity toward H2O2 and a solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of similar to 1.463%.

Automated summary

Hydrogen peroxide is an eco-friendly oxidant with comparable energy density to compressed hydrogen, but current production methods have limitations. A new method using oxidized buckypaper as the H2O2 electrocatalyst, combined with a high-performance inorganic-organic hybrid photocathode, achieved unassisted solar H2O2 production with high selectivity and efficiency.