Selective and durable HO electrosynthesis catalyst in acid by selenization induced straining and phasing.

Developing efficient electrocatalysts for acidic electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide (HO) holds considerable significance, while the selectivity and stability of most materials are compromised under acidic conditions. Herein, we demonstrate that constructing amorphous platinum-selenium (Pt-Se) shells on crystalline Pt cores can manipulate the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) pathway to efficiently catalyze the electrosynthesis of HO in acids. The Se‒Pt nanoparticles, with optimized shell thickness, exhibit over 95% selectivity for HO production, while suppressing its decomposition. In flow cell reactor, Se‒Pt nanoparticles maintain current density of 250 mA cm for 400 h, yielding a HO concentration of 113.2 g L with productivity of 4160.3 mmol g h for effective organic dye degradation. The constructed amorphous Pt-Se shell leads to desirable O adsorption mode for increased selectivity and induces strain for optimized OOH* binding, accelerating the reaction kinetics. This selenization approach is generalizable to other noble metals for tuning 2e ORR pathway.