A Floatable S-Scheme S-pCN/BiVO₄/HPU-PGG System Forming the Three-Phase Interface to Promote High-Efficiency H₂O₂...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Photocatalysis
• Green Chemistry

Background:

• Achieving high solar-to-chemical conversion (SCC) efficiency for photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production is crucial for semiconductor applications.
• Conventional systems face challenges like poor light harvesting, charge recombination, and mass transfer limitations.
• A synergistic material-system design is needed to overcome these bottlenecks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel photocatalytic system for efficient H2O2 production.
• To enhance light absorption, charge separation, and mass transfer.
• To suppress H2O2 decomposition through system design.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an S-pCN/BiVO4 S-scheme heterojunction for improved light absorption and charge separation.
• Anchoring the catalyst onto a hydrophilic polyurethane-poly(propylene glycol) (HPU-PGG) hydrogel to create a floatable platform.
• Utilizing contact angle and kinetic analyses to evaluate system performance.
• Employing UV-Vis, XPS, and TRPL for material characterization.

Main Results:

• The S-pCN/BiVO4 heterojunction demonstrated enhanced visible light absorption and facilitated charge separation.
• The HPU-PGG hydrogel platform enabled efficient three-phase interface reactions and superior mass transfer.
• The system effectively isolated the photocatalyst from the H2O2 product, minimizing decomposition.
• A high H2O2 yield of 488μmol/L/h was achieved under visible light irradiation.

Conclusions:

• The synergistic material-system design of S-pCN/BiVO4/HPU-PGG significantly improves photocatalytic H2O2 production.
• This system achieved a solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of 0.85%, outperforming natural photosynthesis.
• The developed platform offers a promising strategy for efficient and stable H2O2 generation using solar energy.