Enhancing Light-Driven Production of Hydrogen Peroxide by Anchoring Au onto C3N4 Catalysts

Catalysts

Bing Zhang¹  Dandan Han²  Xu Xiang²  Junjiao Yang²  Jing He²  Xiaoyu Chang² 

[1] School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China;State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China;

关键词: hydrogen peroxide;    Au catalyst;    photosynthesis;    carbon nitride;   

DOI  :  10.3390/catal8040147

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Light-driven production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a green and sustainable way to achieve solar-to-chemical energy conversion. During such a conversion, both the high activity and the stability of catalysts were critical. We prepared an Au-supported C3N4 catalyst—i.e., Au/C3N4-500(N2)—by strongly anchoring Au nanoparticles (~5 nm) onto a C3N4 matrix—which simultaneously enhanced the activity towards the photosynthesis of H2O2 and the stability when it was reused. The yield of H2O2 reached 1320 μmol L−1 on Au/C3N4-500(N2) after 4 h of light irradiation in an acidic solution (pH 3), which was higher than that (1067 μmol L−1) of the control sample Au/C3N4-500(Air) and 2.3 times higher than that of the pristine C3N4. Particularly, the catalyst Au/C3N4-500(N2) retained a much higher stability. The yield of H2O2 had a marginal decrease on the spent catalyst—i.e., 98% yield was kept. In comparison, only 70% yield was obtained from the spent control catalyst. The robust anchoring of Au onto C3N4 improved their interaction, which remarkably decreased the Au leaching when it was used and avoided the aggregation and aging of Au particles. Minimal Au leaching was detected on the spent catalyst. The kinetic analyses indicated that the highest formation rate of H2O2 was achieved on the Au/C3N4-500(N2) catalyst. The decomposition tests and kinetic behaviors of H2O2 were also carried out. These findings suggested that the formation rate of H2O2 could be a determining factor for efficient production of H2O2.

【 授权许可】

Unknown