Enhanced Catalytic Performance in Two-Electron Oxygen Reduction Reaction via ZnSnO3 Perovskite

Effective design of high-performance electrocatalysts for the green synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) by a two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e-ORR) method is of vital importance in various applications, but it is still a great challenge for the electrocatalysis community after all of these years. In this work, a novel ZnSnO 3 perovskite is prepared as a highly selective and stable catalyst for the electrosynthesis of H 2 O 2 via 2e-ORR. Profiting from its perovskite-type structure, it presents excellent electrochemical activity toward 2e-ORR in an alkaline electrolyte, and correlated H 2 O 2 selectivity can reach 76%. Additionally, the H 2 O 2 selectivity of ZnSnO 3 perovskite in 2e-ORR can be steadily maintained for 6 h in a durability test, and the production of H 2 O 2 synthesis achieves a total amount of 78 mmol·g cat –1 ·h –1 at 0.1 V. Impressively, ZnSnO 3 perovskite delivers a preferable turnover frequency (TOF) of 1.31 × 10 –3 s –1 compared to the commercial Pt/C catalyst (0.05 × 10 –3 s –1 ) under the same conditions, demonstrating the great applicable potential of ZnSnO 3 perovskite as an active non-noble metal oxide electrocatalyst for 2e-ORR. From the view of catalytic essence, the high electrochemical performance of ZnSnO 3 perovskite in 2e-ORR originates from the suitable adsorption capacity on its surface for the adsorption of important *OOH intermediates according to the theoretical calculations. Therefore, ZnSnO 3 perovskite as the efficient 2e-ORR catalyst is a promising candidate for the green synthesis of hydrogen peroxide.