Simultaneous hydrogen and peroxide production by photocatalytic water splitting

Photocatalytic oxidation of water is a promising method to realize large-scale H2O2 production without a hazardous and energy-intensive process. In this study, we introduce a Pt/TiO2(anatase) photocatalyst to construct a simple and environmentally friendly system to achieve simultaneous H2 and H2O2 production. Both H2 and H2O2 are high-value chemicals, and their separation is automatic. Even without the assistance of a sacrificial agent, the system can reach an efficiency of 7410 and 5096 μmol g–1 h–1 (first 1 h) for H2 and H2O2, respectively, which is much higher than that of a commercial Pt/TiO2(anatase) system that has a similar morphology. This exceptional activity is attributed to the more favorable two-electron oxidation of water to H2O2, compared with the four-electron oxidation of water to O2.