Ultrathin single-crystal PtSe2 nanosheets for high-efficiency O2 electroreduction to H2O2

Kai Dong; Zhaoquan Xu; Xun He; Donglin Zhao; Haijun Chen; Jie Liang; Yongsong Luo; Shengjun Sun; Dongdong Zheng; Qian Liu; Abdulmohsen Ali Alshehri; Zhesheng Feng; Yan Wang; Xuping Sun

doi:10.1039/d2cc04503f

Ultrathin single-crystal PtSe₂ nanosheets for high-efficiency O₂ electroreduction to H₂O₂

Chem Commun (Camb). 2022 Sep 22;58(76):10683-10686. doi: 10.1039/d2cc04503f.

Authors

Kai Dong^{1

2}, Zhaoquan Xu³, Xun He², Donglin Zhao², Haijun Chen³, Jie Liang¹, Yongsong Luo¹, Shengjun Sun¹, Dongdong Zheng¹, Qian Liu⁴, Abdulmohsen Ali Alshehri⁵, Zhesheng Feng³, Yan Wang³, Xuping Sun^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, Shandong, China. xpsun@uestc.edu.cn.
² Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, Sichuan, China.
³ School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, Sichuan, China. wy@uestc.edu.cn.
⁴ Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, Sichuan, China.
⁵ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 36065831
DOI: 10.1039/d2cc04503f

Abstract

Electrochemical synthesis of H₂O₂via a two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e^- ORR) has emerged as a promising alternative to the anthraquinone process. However, the strong competition from the 4e^- pathway severely limits its activity and selectivity, especially for Pt-based catalysts. Herein, ultrathin single-crystal PtSe₂ nanosheets were successfully prepared via an in situ selenization process using commercial Pt/C as a precursor, demonstrating an exclusive 2e^- ORR pathway compared to the 4e^- pathway of commercial Pt/C, delivering a high H₂O₂ selectivity over a wide pH range (>80%, up to 94.1%). Furthermore, in situ infrared spectroscopy results revealed Pt as an active center, accompanied by the key intermediate OOH* adsorption and HOOH formation.