Enhancement of hydrogen peroxide production by electrochemical reduction of oxygen on carbon nanotubes modified with fluorine

Wei Wang; Xiaoye Lu; Pei Su; Yawei Li; Jingju Cai; Qizhan Zhang; Minghua Zhou; Omotayo Arotiba

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127423

Enhancement of hydrogen peroxide production by electrochemical reduction of oxygen on carbon nanotubes modified with fluorine

Chemosphere. 2020 Nov:259:127423. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127423. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Authors

Wei Wang¹, Xiaoye Lu¹, Pei Su¹, Yawei Li¹, Jingju Cai¹, Qizhan Zhang¹, Minghua Zhou², Omotayo Arotiba³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Technology for Complex Trans-Media Pollution, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Urban Ecology Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Advanced Water Treatment Technology International Joint Research Center, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China.
² Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Technology for Complex Trans-Media Pollution, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Urban Ecology Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China; Tianjin Advanced Water Treatment Technology International Joint Research Center, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China. Electronic address: zhoumh@nankai.edu.cn.
³ Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, South Africa.

PMID: 32574847
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127423

Abstract

It is vital to synthesis hydrogen peroxide via electrochemical reduction of oxygen since it is a green process to produce oxidant with wide applications including water/wastewater treatment. In this work, fluorine (F) was employed to modify carbon nanotube (CNT), and the obtained F doped CNT (F-CNT) catalyst was used to fabricate gas diffusion electrode (GDE). It was found that F doping could improve oxygen reduction activity and H₂O₂ selectivity, and then enhanced the H₂O₂ production. After modification, F-CNT prepared with 0.6 M HF (CNT-F-0.6) had much higher H₂O₂ production (47.6 mg L^-1) and current efficiency (89.5%) than that of CNT (29.6 mg L^-1, 70.1%) at bias voltage of -1.3 V (vs SCE) and pH 7. Moreover, the high catalytic activity of CNT-F-0.6 could maintain in 5 consecutive reaction cycles. The material characterization and electrochemical test indicated that F doping had no significant effects on the surface area of CNT, but improved the defect degree of CNT. The enhanced H₂O₂ production performance could be ascribed to the formation of CF₂ and CF₃ on the surface of F-doped CNT, which rendered the potential for practical application of novel carbon catalyst for GDE.

Keywords: Electrochemical performance; F doped carbon nanotube; Gas diffusion electrode; Hydrogen peroxide production.

MeSH terms

Catalysis
Electrodes
Fluorides
Fluorine / chemistry*
Hydrogen Peroxide / chemistry
Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
Oxidation-Reduction
Oxygen
Wastewater
Water Purification

Substances

Nanotubes, Carbon
Waste Water
Fluorine
Hydrogen Peroxide
Fluorides
Oxygen