Yao Zhiquan, Xiong Wei, Shi Yong, Li Xinyong, Leung Michael K H
Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China; Ability R&D Energy Research Centre, School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Sci Total Environ. 2025 Jan 25;962:178444. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178444. Epub 2025 Jan 11.
The in-situ electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide (HO) offers a promising approach for ballast water treatment. However, further advancements are required to develop electrocatalysts capable of achieving efficient HO generation in seawater environments. Herein, we synthesized two-dimensional lamellated porous carbon nanosheets enriched with oxygen functional groups, which exhibited exceptional performance in HO electrosynthesis. The carbon nanosheet electrocatalysts demonstrated high selectivity for HO production, reaching 90 % at 0.33 V vs. RHE under neutral conditions. Maximum yields were achieved at 2238 mmol g h at -0.5 V in an H-type electrolysis cell and 3681 mmol g h at a current density of 150 mA cm in a flow cell, with Faraday efficiencies exceeding 70 %. Notably, a continuous 9-hour electrosynthesis test produced a high cumulative HO concentration of 1.2 wt% at a current density of 100 mA cm, highlighting the stability and scalability of carbon nanosheets. The outstanding performance of carbon nanosheets is attributed to the abundant basal plane C-O-C group, which provide optimal *OOH binding energy and minimal overpotential. Additionally, the in-situ generated HO from the electrocatalytic system achieved complete sterilization within 60 min against Escherichia coli and several marine bacterial strains isolated from seawater. Furthermore, treatment of real seawater with HO significantly altered the bacterial population abundance at both the phylum and genus levels, highlighting its effectiveness in microbial control. This study presents a high-performance electrocatalytic system for ballast water treatment, offering both scalability and environmental sustainability.
原位电化学生产过氧化氢（HO）为压载水处理提供了一种很有前景的方法。然而，需要进一步改进以开发能够在海水环境中高效生成HO的电催化剂。在此，我们合成了富含氧官能团的二维层状多孔碳纳米片，其在HO电合成中表现出优异的性能。碳纳米片电催化剂对HO生成表现出高选择性，在中性条件下相对于可逆氢电极（RHE）在0.33 V时达到90%。在H型电解池中，在-0.5 V时最大产率达到2238 mmol g h，在流动池中，在电流密度为150 mA cm时最大产率达到3681 mmol g h，法拉第效率超过70%。值得注意的是，在100 mA cm的电流密度下进行的连续9小时电合成测试产生了1.2 wt%的高累积HO浓度，突出了碳纳米片的稳定性和可扩展性。碳纳米片的优异性能归因于丰富的基面C-O-C基团，其提供了最佳的*OOH结合能和最小的过电位。此外，电催化系统原位生成的HO在60分钟内对大肠杆菌和几种从海水中分离出的海洋细菌菌株实现了完全杀菌。此外，用HO处理实际海水显著改变了门和属水平的细菌种群丰度，突出了其在微生物控制方面的有效性。本研究提出了一种用于压载水处理的高性能电催化系统，兼具可扩展性和环境可持续性。
