Defect engineering modified bismuth vanadate toward efficient solar hydrogen peroxide production

Abstract

Industry for producing the vital chemical hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) requires drastically reductions in energy consumption and environmental pollution. Solar chemical conversion from O2 to H2O2 is considered to be the most promising alternative method, nevertheless, weak energy coupling between photo-charges and adsorbed species limits the yield of H2O2. Herein, we demonstrate that oxygen vacancy-rich BiVO4 can efficiently generate H2O2 in pure water under visible light irradiation without any heterojunctions or precious-metal cocatalysts. Oxygen vacancies, as typical coordinatively unsaturated sites, enable efficient O2 adsorption and enrichment, and then thriving chemisorption can spatially facilitate photoexcited electrons transfer to oxygen species. Compared to pristine BiVO4, defective BiVO4 enhanced O2 adsorption and interfacial electron transfer rate to O2 by 19 and 23 times, respectively, resulting in a more than 32-fold increase in H2O2 production. This research offers a new perspective for bridging solar and chemical energy by assuring species chemisorption.