Scalable Cathodic H₂O₂ Electrosynthesis using Cobalt-Coordinated Nanocellulose Electrocatalyst.

Abstract

Converting hierarchical biomass structure into cutting-edge architecture of electrocatalysts can effectively relieve the extreme dependency of nonrenewable fossil-fuel-resources typically suffering from low cost-effectiveness, scarce supplies, and adverse environmental impacts. A cost-effective cobalt-coordinated nanocellulose (CNF) strategy is reported for realizing a high-performance 2e-ORR electrocatalysts through molecular engineering of hybrid ZIFs-CNF architecture. By a coordination and pyrolysis process, it generates substantial oxygen-capturing active sites within the typically oxygen-insulating cellulose, promoting O₂ mass and electron transfer efficiency along the nanostructured Co₃O₄ anchored with CNF-based biochar. The Co-CNF electrocatalyst exhibits an exceptional H₂O₂ electrosynthesis efficiency of ≈510.58 mg L^-1 cm^-2 h^-1 with an exceptional superiority over the existing biochar-, or fossil-fuel-derived electrocatalysts. The combination of the electrocatalysts with stainless steel mesh serving as a dual cathode can strongly decompose regular organic pollutants (up to 99.43% removal efficiency by 30 min), showing to be a desirable approach for clean environmental remediation with sustainability, ecological safety, and high-performance.