2020/12/18 by Sotirios Mavrikis, Samuel C. Perry, Puiki Leung +2 · 1 citation
Energy · Engineering · Environmental Science · #Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion #Advanced battery technologies research #Advanced oxidation water treatment
paper · doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c07263
openalex publication_date 2020/12/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) has recently gained traction as a green alternative to the unsustainable anthraquinone auto-oxidation process and the high-risk direct synthesis route. While the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2 e – ORR) toward H 2 O 2 has been covered extensively in the literature, the unorthodox two-electron water oxidation reaction (2 e – WOR) remains far less popular, due to the thermodynamic unfavorability of the pathway. Nonetheless, the 2 e – WOR constitutes a coveted procedure as it enables the electro-generation of H 2 O 2 solely from water. A thorough understanding of the reaction mechanism, including all intermediates and competing reaction routes, is essential for the fabrication of electrocatalysts, and assembly of electrochemical reactors, capable of greater H 2 O 2 production rates with an optimal efficiency. This review focuses exclusively on the 2 e – WOR to electrochemically produce H 2 O 2 . A summary of all prevailing water oxidation mechanisms is presented, supported with computational and experimental data, and key challenges and limitations that require attention are addressed.