Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2021, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (12): 2149-2163.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(20)63781-0

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Electrocatalytic H2O2 generation for disinfection

Yachao Zeng, Gang Wu*()   

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, United States
  • Received:2021-01-06 Accepted:2021-01-06 Online:2021-12-18 Published:2021-05-06
  • Contact: Gang Wu
  • About author:* Tel: +1-716-6458618; Fax: +1-716-6453822; E-mail: gangwu@buffalo.edu
    Gang Wu is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York (SUNY). He obtained all of his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at the Harbin Institute of Technology in 1997, 1999, and 2004, respectively. He performed extensive postdoctoral training at Tsinghua University (2004‒2006), the University of South Carolina (2006‒2008), and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL, 2008‒2010). Then he was promoted to a staff scientist at LANL (2010‒2014). He joined the University of Buffalo in 2014 as a tenure-track assistant professor and was quickly promoted to a tenured associate professor in 2018 and a full professor in 2020. His research focuses on functional materials and catalysts for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. He has published more than 250 papers, which have been cited more than > 27,000 times with an H index of 82 (Google Scholar) by Feb 2021. Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science) continuously acknowledged Dr. Wu as one of the Highly Cited Researchers in 2018, 2019, and 2020. He served as the Editorial Board of Chinese Journal of Catalysis since 2020.

Abstract:

Epidemics are threatening public health and social development. Emerging as a green disinfectant, H2O2 can prevent the breakout of epidemics in migration. Electrochemical H2O2 production powered by renewable electricity provides a clean and decentralized solution for on-site disinfection. This review firstly discussed the efficacy of H2O2 in disinfection. Then necessary fundamental principles are summarized to gain insight into electrochemical H2O2 production. The focus is on exploring pathways to realize a highly efficient H2O2 production. Progress in advanced electrocatalysts, typically single-atom catalysts for the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e- ORR), are highlighted to provide high H2O2 selectivity design strategies. Finally, a rational design of electrode and electrolytic cells is outlined to realize the on-site disinfection. Overall, this critical review contributes to exploiting the potentials and constraints of electrochemical H2O2 generation in disinfection and pinpoints future research directions required for implementation.

Key words: Hydrogen peroxide, Oxygen reduction, Disinfection, Electrosynthesis, Single metal atom catalysts