Enhanced proton-feeding kinetics of metal-organic framework toward industrial-level H₂O₂ electrosynthesis for...

Eco-friendly electrocatalytic production of alkaline H₂O₂ via the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction offers a promising alternative to the conventional anthraquinone process, which is energy-intensive and poses explosion risks. However, the industrial adoption of this approach is hindered by sluggish proton-feeding kinetics of heterogeneous electrocatalysts, which restricts the achievable current densities. Herein, we develop Ni-based metal-organic frameworks with a bio-inspired B-coordination (B-NiBDC). The B-NiBDC shows Faradaic efficiency of ~90% for H₂O₂ electrosynthesis at 1000 mA cm^-2, obtaining ~7.49 wt.% H₂O₂ alkaline solution for bleaching under urea oxidation-assisted energy-saving system. This has led to a significant increase in pulp brightness by 25-39 % (International Organization for Standardization, ISO). We propose that B-O-Ni motifs of B-NiBDC induce the formation of electron-deficient Ni active sites. Experiments and theoretical calculations elucidate that the electron-deficient Ni has accelerated water dissociation kinetics for proton-feeding to produce *OOH intermediate with suitable adsorption energy, boosting overall H₂O₂ electrosynthesis activity.