Industrial H <sub>2</sub> O <sub>2</sub> Electrosynthesis in Neutral Saltwater Over Polythiophene‐Modulated Edge‐Nickel Sites in Conductive Metal‐Organic‐Framework
ABSTRACT Electrochemical hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) synthesis in neutral saltwater holds promise for medical sterilization and marine remediation, but is limited by the scarcity of catalysts combining high selectivity and industrial‐current capability. Here, we report a polythiophene‐modulated strategy to activate the edge‐nickel sites in the conductive metal‐organic framework (Ni‐HHTP) for efficient H 2 O 2 electrosynthesis via two‐electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e − ORR). The polythiophene with sufficient oxygen‐containing species in situ coordinated with the edge Ni‐sites in Ni‐HHTP to form a penta‐coordinated Ni‐O 5 configuration, thus tailoring the electronic structure of nickel centers and optimizing the 2e − ORR activity and selectivity. Meanwhile, Ni‐HHTP possesses a well‐defined porous architecture, in which polythiophene is incorporated and significantly enhances its electronic conductivity, favoring rapid reaction kinetics. Thus, the resulting catalyst achieves over 90% H 2 O 2 selectivity in simulated seawater (3.6 wt.% NaCl), and operates stably at an industrial current density of 250 mA cm −2 . When integrated into a solar‐driven system, there is still an average Faradaic efficiency of ∼100% for H 2 O 2 electrosynthesis, as well as a solar‐to‐H 2 O 2 conversion efficiency of 12.8%. This work demonstrates the precise activation of metal sites in conductive metal‐organic frameworks via polymer modulation, offering a practical avenue for industrial‐scale H 2 O 2 electrosynthesis under neutral conditions.
Authors
- Lichang Yin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6670-9421)
- Haochen Meng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0030-2730)
- De’an Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0953-9443)
- Yuqian Qiao
- Ji Min Liang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8217-8045)
- Zhiyuan Sang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6027-1131)
- Yi-Xiang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4021-4228)
- Qiao Jiang
- Lin Wang
- Feng Hou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2383-051X)
- Hao Rao
Institutions
- Tianjin University of Technology (CN)
- Nankai University (CN)
- Institute of Metal Research (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2026-05-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.76045
- Primary Topic
- Advanced oxidation water treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00