Research

The direct electrocatalytic reduction of O2 is a sustainable method to produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which is a green oxidant widely used in the chemical industry. Reactions at catalysts inevitably lead to reactant accumulation or depletion close to the surface. Therefore, not electrode reaction rates but species transport and reactions in the electrolyte dominate performance and selectivity at certain operating conditions.

My research focuses on revealing the impact of transport on performance of the electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide in three fundamentally different set-ups – from a liquid-phase rotating disc electrode setup with a flat electrode via liquid-phase continuous flow reactors to technical-scale flow cells with porous gas diffusion electrode. Comparative model-assisted analysis is used to evaluate differences in transport, transport impact, and local reaction conditions.

This work is part of the DFG research unit HyPerCat, which aims to bridge fundamental insights in thermochemical and electrochemical hydrogen peroxide catalysis.