Polymethylhydrosiloxane-modified gas-diffusion cathode for more efficient and durable H2O2 electrosynthesis in the context of water treatment

On-site H2O2 electrosynthesis via two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is attracting great interest forwater treatment. The use of carbon black-based gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs) is especially appealing, but theiractivity, selectivity and long-term stability must be improved. Here, a faci...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Xia, Pan, Zhao, Lele, Chen, Xi, Ye, Zhihong, Zheng, Zhihong., He, Qiang, Sirés Sadornil, Ignacio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/206789
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/206789
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Depuració de l'aigua
Reacció d'oxidació-reducció
Electroquímica
Water purification
Oxidation-reduction reaction
Electrochemistry
Descripción
Sumario:On-site H2O2 electrosynthesis via two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is attracting great interest forwater treatment. The use of carbon black-based gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs) is especially appealing, but theiractivity, selectivity and long-term stability must be improved. Here, a facile GDEs modification strategy usingtrace polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) allowed reaching a outstanding H2O2 production, outperforming theconventional polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-GDE (1874.8 vs 1087.4 mg L-1 at 360 min). The superhydrophobicityconferred by PMHS endowed the catalytic layer with high faradaic efficiencies (76.2%-89.7%)during long-term operation for 60 h. The electrochemical tests confirmed the high activity and selectivity of thePMHS-modified GDE. Moreover, the efficient degradation of several micropollutants by the electro-Fentonprocess demonstrated the great potential of the new GDE. An in-depth understanding of the roles of PMHSfunctional groups is provided from DFT calculations: the -CH3 groups contribute to form a superhydrophobicinterface, whereas Si-H and as-formed Si-O-C sites modulate the coordination environment of active carboncenters.