Designing Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-Ti as Photoanode in H-Type Double-Electrode Coupling Systems for Bidirectional Photocatalytic Production of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>

Developing high-efficiency photoelectrodes plays an important role in the photoelectrocatalytic generation of hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) in the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting field. In this work, an innovative strategy was proposed, the synergi...

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Main Authors: Danfeng Zhang, Changwei An, Dandan Liu, Tong Liu, Te Wang, Min Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Molecules
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/9/1908
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Summary:Developing high-efficiency photoelectrodes plays an important role in the photoelectrocatalytic generation of hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) in the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting field. In this work, an innovative strategy was proposed, the synergistic photocatalytic production of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> using a bidirectional photoanode–photocathode coupling system under visible-light irradiation. Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-Ti, as the photoanode, which was built by way of Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> loaded on Ti-mesh using the hydrothermal-calcination method, was investigated in terms of the suitability of its properties for PEC H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> production after optimization of the bias voltage, the type of electrolyte solution, and the concentration of the electrolyte. Afterwards, a H-type double-electrode coupling system with an Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-Ti photoanode and a WO<sub>3</sub>@Co<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub> photocathode was established for the bidirectional synergistic production of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> under visible-light irradiation. The yield of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> reached 919.56 μmol·L<sup>−1</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup> in 2 h over −0.7 V with 1 mol·L<sup>−1</sup> of KHCO<sub>3</sub> as the anolyte and 0.1 mol·L<sup>−1</sup> Na<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> as the catholyte (pH = 3). It was inferred that H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> production on the WO<sub>3</sub>@Co<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub> photocathode was in line with the 2e<sup>-</sup> oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) principle, and on the Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-Ti photoanode was in line with the 2e<sup>-</sup> water oxidation reaction (WOR) rule, or it was indirectly promoted by the electrolyte solution KHCO<sub>3</sub>. This work provides an innovative idea and a reference for anode–cathode double coupling systems for the bidirectional production of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>.
ISSN:1420-3049