Photovoltaic-driven stable electrosynthesis of HO in simulated seawater and its disinfection application

Electrosynthesis of H 2 O 2 through O 2 reduction in seawater provides bright sight on the H 2 O 2 industry, which is a prospective alternative to the intensively constructed anthraquinone process. In this work, a photovoltaic-driven flow cell system is built for the electrosynthesis of H 2 O 2 in simulated seawater using N-doped carbon catalysts. The N-doped carbon catalysts with multiple N-doped carbon defects can achieve a record-high H 2 O 2 production rate of 34.7 mol g catalyst −1 h −1 under an industrially relevant current density of 500 mA cm −2 and a long-term stability over 200 h in simulated seawater (0.5 M NaCl). When driven by the photovoltaic system, a H 2 O 2 solution of ∼1.0 wt% in 0.5 M NaCl is also obtained at about 700 mA cm −2 . The obtained solution is applied for disinfection of mouse wounds, with a removal rate of 100% for Escherichia coli and negligible toxicity to living organisms. It provides bright prospects for large-scale on-site H 2 O 2 production and on-demand disinfection. The N-doped carbon catalysts achieved a record-high H 2 O 2 production rate under an industrial current density over 200 h in simulated seawater. This H 2 O 2 solution achieved 100% removal rate for E. coli and negligible toxicity to living organisms.