Au Nanoparticles Supported on BiVO₄: Effective Inorganic Photocatalysts for H₂O₂ Production from Water and O₂ under Visible Light

Abstract

Design of safe and sustainable process for the synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is a very important subject from the viewpoint of green chemistry. Photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production with earth-abundant water and molecular oxygen (O 2 ) as resources is an ideal process. A successful system has been proposed based on an organic semiconductor; however, it suffers from poor photostability. Here we report an inorganic photocatalyst for H 2 O 2 synthesis. Visible light irradiation (λ >420 nm) of semiconductor BiVO 4 loaded with Au nanoparticles (Au/BiVO 4 ) in pure water with O 2 successfully produces H 2 O 2 . The bottom of the Bi-VO 4 conduction band (0.02 V vs. NHE, pH 0) is more positive than the one-electron reduction potential of O 2 (−0.13 V), while more negative than the two-electron reduction potential of O 2 (0.68 V). This thus suppresses one-electron reduction of O 2 and selectively promotes two-electron reduction of O 2 , resulting in efficient H 2 O 2 formation.

Polymeric Metal Salen‐Type Complexes as Catalysts for Photoelectrocatalytic Hydrogen Peroxide Production

“…. Since then, wide attention have received photocatalysts based on ZnO and other inorganic semiconductors either in pristine form (TiO 2 ,,, Sb 2 O 3, WO 3 , CdS, CdTe) or as heterojunctions (WO 3 /CeO 2 , PdO x /WO 3 , N‐ and S‐doped TiO 2 , Au/BiVO 4 , Au‐supported WO 3 /BiVO 4 , and Au/TiO 2 ,). Close to these systems are photocatalysts based on carbon materials, like graphitic carbon nitrides (g‐C 3 N 4 ),, CdS/graphene oxide or Cd 3 (C 3 N 3 S 3 ) 2 coordination polymer/graphene oxide rGO .…”

Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Peroxide Production from Water on a WO3/BiVO4 Photoanode and from O2 on an Au Cathode Without External Bias

“…[59][60][61] As discussed in the Introduction,a lmost all photoelectrochemical or photocatalytic H 2 O 2 productionsh ave generally been performedb yt he two-electron reduction of O 2 . [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] The development of ap hotoelectrochemicals ystem for producing H 2 O 2 with high current efficiency by using H 2 Oa nd O 2 as raw materials [ Figure 1(A) and (B), Eq. (8 a)] by at wo-photon process may be ap romisingt echnology from the viewpoint of practical applications.…”

“…Although little promisingt echnology for oxidativeH 2 O 2 productionf rom H 2 Oi sk nown, many studies investigating reductive H 2 O 2 production from O 2 have been reported. [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] These reactions have relied on the two-electron reduction of O 2 [Eq. (7)].…”

“…Designo faphotoelectrochemicals ystem specialized in producing only H 2 O 2 could be achieved by combining our system for oxidativeH 2 O 2 production with ac onventional system for reductiveH 2 O 2 production, as shown in Equation (8 a Eq: ð4ÞþEq: ð7Þ : [32,34,[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] requires more solarl ight than H 2 O 2 production through at wo-photon process[ Eq. Eq: ð1Þþ2Eq: ð7Þ :…”

Synergistic Effects of Ag Nanoparticles/BiV1-xMoxO4 with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

“…Additionally, the photocatalytic activity of BiVO 4 is highly dependent on its various crystal facets. Recent studies on the deposition of noble metals, such as Ag, Cu, and Au, on the different facets of BiVO 4 have demonstrated good photocatalytic activity [31][32][33]. Li et al [34] produced an Ag/BiVO 4 composite through the hydrothermal synthesis and photoreduction of Ag deposited on the (040) crystal facets of BiVO 4 , leading to an enhanced photoelectrochemical performance, as indicated by the fast separation of the electron-hole pairs.…”