Fate and Reactivity of Peroxides formed over BiVO4 Anodes in Bicarbonate Electrolytes

21 September 2022, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

For the electrochemical and photoelectrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide, aqueous bicarbonate electrolytes have been reported with much higher efficiency compared to other alternatives. It was proposed that this is due to efficient oxidation of the bicarbonate to peroxymonocarbonate (PMC) with subsequently hydrolyzes to hydrogen peroxide. However, as we show herein, PMC forms stable concentrations and does not hydrolyze completely. Due to its much better oxidation kinetics this may influence the sensitivity of the employed peroxide quantification methods. Particularly commercial test strips are susceptible to this, giving rise to uncertainty about the validity of the high peroxide formation efficiency in bicarbonate electrolytes. On the other side, PMC’s superior oxidation kinetics may mean that the resulting solutions are even more potent oxidants than previously suspected.

Keywords

Percarbonate
Peroxomonocarbonate
Hydrogen Peroxide
Bismuth Vanadate
Electrochemical synthesis.

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