A world record-breaking 1.1% solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency was achieved, revolutionizing the production of hydrogen peroxide.
Hydrogen peroxide is a key chemical used in semiconductor manufacturing processes, one of the top 100 industrial chemicals, and a key ingredient widely used in disinfection, oxidation, and pulping. The global hydrogen peroxide market is expected to exceed KRW 7 trillion in 2024. However, it is predicted that the stable supply of hydrogen peroxide will become difficult due to the recent worldwide epidemic prevention measures against the new coronavirus and the rapid increase in semiconductor production demand. The current method of producing hydrogen peroxide is a thermochemical method (anthraquinone method) that uses palladium, an expensive rare metal, as a catalyst under high temperature and pressure conditions.
This process not only consumes a lot of energy, but also poses various environmental problems such as explosion hazards and greenhouse gas emissions. Many efforts have been made to produce hydrogen peroxide with low energy consumption and low carbon emissions, but the very low productivity and efficiency make it difficult to overcome the limits of commercialization. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop environmentally friendly technologies that can solve the problems of existing thermochemical processes.
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Yoon Seok Jin) announced in November last year that a research team led by Dr. Jeehye Byun of the Water Cycle Research Center and a research team led by Dr. Dong Ki Lee of the Clean Energy Research Center made an unprecedented A technology that produces highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide and replaces the need for high temperature, high pressure energy. This technology is an example of replacing thermochemical processes with photocatalytic processes to produce key chemical feedstocks without carbon emissions.
The KIST research team designed the photocatalytic reaction solution as an organic solution based on the fact that anthraquinone organic molecules undergo repeated oxidation and reduction reactions in existing thermochemical processes to produce hydrogen peroxide. As a result, they found that the oxygen reduction ability of the photocatalyst was improved in the organic reaction solution, and the amount of hydrogen peroxide produced was greatly increased. The research team also discovered for the first time that the organic reaction solution itself absorbs light and generates hydrogen peroxide through a photochemical reaction.
By using sunlight to control the photocatalyst and reaction solution, the research team achieved a result of generating hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 53,000 ppm (5.3%) per gram of photocatalyst per unit time. This is more than five times the hydrogen peroxide manufacturing industry standard of over 10,000 ppm (1%). Therefore, considering that existing photocatalyst technology generates only tens to hundreds of ppm of hydrogen peroxide, this is an epoch-making performance figure. Through the synergistic effect of two photoreactions, photocatalysis and photochemistry, this technology achieved a conversion efficiency of 1.1% from sunlight to chemical substances, breaking the highest efficiency of conventional photocatalysts of 0.61% and achieving the world’s highest efficiency. .
Dr. Byun and Dr. Lee from KIST said: In addition, “We have confirmed the completeness of the technology by connecting the process of refining the generated hydrogen peroxide to the liter scale, and we aim to commercialize the technology through large-scale demonstrations in the future.”
Original: Hydrogen peroxide is produced using the power of sunlight
Than: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
