A metal-free cascaded process for efficient H2O2 photoproduction using conjugated carbonyl sites

Carbon-based metal-free catalysts are promising green catalysts for photocatalysis and electrocatalysis due to their low cost and environmental friendliness. A key challenge in utilizing these catalysts is identifying their active sites, given their poor crystallinity and complex structures. Here we demonstrate the key structure of the double-bonded conjugated carbon group as a metal-free active site, enabling efficient O 2 photoreduction to H 2 O 2 through a cascaded water oxidation − O 2 reduction process. Using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as a precursor, we synthesized various carbon-based photocatalysts and analyzed their structural evolution. Under the polymerization conditions of 260 °C to 400 °C, an N -ethyl- 2 -piperazinone-like structure was formed on the surface of the catalyst, resulting in high photocatalytic H 2 O 2 photoproduction (2884.7 μmol g −1 h −1 ) under visible light. A series of control experiments and theoretical calculations further confirm that the double-bond conjugated carbonyl structure is the key and universal feature of the active site of metal-free photocatalysts.