Hydrogen Peroxide Production from Oxygen and Water by Two-electrode Electrolytic Cell Using a Gold Nanoparticle-loaded Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide Cathode

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles were deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (Au/FTO) with the mean particle size controlled by the deposition precipitation method. A two-electrode electrochemical cell with the structure of glassy carbon (anode) | 0.1 M NaClO4 | Nafion® | 0.1 M NaClO4 | Au/FTO with a mean Au particle size of 16.8 nm (cathode) stably and continuously produces H2O2 at applied voltage = 1.8 V with a rate of 1.08 × 102 µM h−1 and selectivity of 86.5% due to the high electrocatalytic activity of Au NPs for two-electron oxygen reduction reaction and the inactivity of FTO for H2O2 decomposition.