Emerging semiconductors and metal-organic-compounds-related photocatalysts for sustainable hydrogen peroxide production

As a versatile raw material, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is extensively employed in chemicals synthesis, medical disinfection, textile indus-try, and environmental remediation fields. H2O2 generation through a photocatalytic route has attracted increasing interest. Tremen-dous progress and achievements have been made over the past de-cades in photocatalytic H2O2 production. Herein, we critically re-view the state-of-the art developments on various photocatalysts, including carbon nitride, titania, bismuth, sulfide, carbon, and metal-organic-compound-related materials, for the highly efficient light-driven H2O2 synthesis. Significantly, these materials show tunable morphology, micro-nanostructure, surface chemistry, and electronic band-gap structure characters for sufficient light harvesting, rapid hole-electron pairs separation and transfer, and favorable reactants adsorption as well as facilitated products desorption, thus delivering great activity for efficient light-driven H2O2 production. The specific challenges and opportunities related to photocatalytic materials discovery and development that will emerge from this important field are discussed.

Automated summary

This article critically reviews the latest developments in various photocatalysts for highly efficient light-driven H2O2 synthesis. These materials possess tunable morphology, micro-nanostructure, surface chemistry, and electronic band-gap structure, enabling sufficient light harvesting, rapid separation and transfer of hole-electron pairs, favorable reactant adsorption, and facilitated product desorption, thus providing great activity for efficient light-driven H2O2 production.