USHPP · Unassisted photochemical water oxidation to solar hydrogen peroxide production
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-01-01 → 2023-01-18
- EU contribution
- €224,934
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Unassisted photochemical water oxidation to solar hydrogen peroxide production
Currently, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is one of the most valued energy carriers, generating more energy than any other fuel without producing any pollutants. In recent years, the use of high-efficiency hydrogen peroxide fuel cells has also gained much attention to resolve the problems associated with the limitations of proton exchange membrane fuel cells; in addition, they have potential applications in space power systems.1–3 The energy density of 60 wt.% aqueous H2O2 (3.0 MJ L-1) is equivalent to that of compressed (35 MPa) H2 (2.8 MJ L-1) and much higher than gaseous H2.4 The MSCA-IF project “Unassisted photochemical water oxidation to solar hydrogen peroxide production (USHPP)” reports a system where natural resources (sun, air, and water) and waste (laboratory organic chemical waster or biowaste) were used for the production of future energy carrier H2O2. Using a photochemical approach, synthesising an efficient photocatalyst (PC) and adopting an efficient reaction system we have tried to make this possible. The research idea of this work was to generate H2O2 mainly focused on water oxidation/O2 reduction. Furthermore, the reduction of H+ ions to H2 in the conduction band along with water oxidation to H2O2 has shown the potential to resolve the major problem of gas separation associated with photochemical water splitting to H2 and O2 in a particulate system. Moreover, the USHPP project also projected the best use of in-situ generated reactive oxygen species (ROSs) in combination with biocatalysts/heterogeneous catalysts for the epoxidation of alkene, chemical conversion of organic/biomolecules to valuable chemicals, and photoinduced cancer treatment. Not much has been reported on a such hybrid approach combining photocatalysis, heterogeneous catalysis and biomedical applications. Work on the USHPP certainly increases the understanding of the challenges associated with the oxidation of water to H2O2, the potential for hybridization of photocatalysts with hetero/biocatalysts, the best possible use of photocatalysts in various sectors, and the contribution to a circular economy.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The growing demand for clean energy, and serious nature of global warming are unquestionable. Moreover, the finite nature of fossil fuel reserves and the increasing pace of climate change mean that we must find and harness clean and sustainable energy sources. H2O2 can be one such energy source because it is one of the most potent fuels, generating more energy than any other fuel without generating any pollutant. Although the green hydrogen economy is projected as a solution to clean energy demand, it suffers from storage problems due to the low volumetric energy density in the gas phase. However, there is no storage issue associated with liquid form H2O2. Undoubtedly, the photochemical O2 reduction route has great potential for H2O2 production but the systematic requirements limit its commercialization. However, there is no photocatalyst reported so far, which oxidized the water to H2O2 without any assistance (without the use of a sacrificial agent, external bias, oxygen supply, etc.). This project USHPP (Unassisted photochemical water oxidation to solar hydrogen peroxide production) is designed to address all these problems by synthesizing a stable, shielded, and water oxidizing PC for commercially viable and eco-friendly H2O2 production route. Furthermore, the spontaneous reduction of H+ ions to H2 in conduction band in the proposed USHPP project will resolve the major problem of gases separation associated with photochemical H2 production in powder system (as there will be two separate phases: H2O2 in liquid (oxidative product), and H2 in the gas phase (reductive product)). Further, the success of this project also opens the possibility of simultaneous production of H2O2 via H2O oxidation at valence band, and O2 reduction at conduction band, which will increase the H2O2 production rate without utilizing any sacrificial agent. The best use of in-situ solar H2O2 production system in combination with biocatalysts will bring multidisciplinary aspect to USHPP.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- CARDIFF UNIVERSITY · CARDIFFCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union