Objective Observations of the Electrochemical Production of H2O2 in KHCO3 Aqueous Electrolyte and Related Application Inspirations

The electrochemical production of H2O2 from two-electron water oxidation in a HCO3–-containing aqueous electrolyte has been recently developed, but the objective issues of H2O2 decomposition, low purity, and inconvenient storage options have not drawn enough attention in previous reports. In the present work, commercial fluorine-doped SnO2 (FTO) glass was investigated as a model anode material for the electrochemical production of H2O2 in a KHCO3 aqueous electrolyte. Although H2O2 was electrochemically produced in the FTO-glass-anode-based cell, the electrochemical decomposition and nonstorability of H2O2 products in a KHCO3 aqueous electrolyte were also observed. On the basis of the activation property of HCO3– in the conversion of H2O2 into •OH, the electrochemically produced H2O2 in a KHCO3 aqueous electrolyte was investigated to achieve the degradation of methylene blue and tetracycline, respectively. Our work reveals objective issues about the electrochemical synthesis of H2O2 in a HCO3–-containing electrolyte and provides inspired applications of this research.