Enhanced proton-feeding kinetics of metal-organic framework toward industrial-level H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> electrosynthesis for sustainable bleaching.

Cheng, Fanpeng; Liu, Yingnan; Zhao, Zilin; Yang, Xiaoxuan; Zheng, Wanzhen; Yang, Bin; Li, Zhongjian; Zhang, Qinghua et al. · Nat Commun · 2025

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Eco-friendly electrocatalytic production of alkaline H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> 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 H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> electrosynthesis at 1000 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>, obtaining ~7.49 wt.% H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> 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 H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> electrosynthesis activity.