Recent research progress in hydrogen peroxide synthesized by electrocatalytic process with two-electron transfer: A brief review

Abstract

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as an environmentally friendly oxidant, is widely employed in industries such as wastewater treatment, disinfection, chemical production, printing and dyeing, rocket fuel and electronics manufacturing. The electrocatalytic method of 2e-oxygen reduction reaction (2e-ORR) and 2-electron water oxidation reactions (2e-WOR) could achieve the in-situ green production of hydrogen peroxide to replace the current mainstream anthraquinone oxidation process to reduce the environmental pollution and risks of long-distance transportation. This review started from the development history of H2O2 production, comprehensively reviewed the mechanism of H2O2 production by electrocatalytic method, the calculation method of yield and the selection of electrolyte. Then the performance and mechanism of different catalysts for 2e-ORR and 2e-WOR were categorized and summarized, and finally the current deficiencies in this field were analyzed, and the insights into the future research directions were provided.