Defect engineering modified bismuth vanadate toward efficient solar hydrogen peroxide production

Industry for producing the vital chemical hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) requires drastically reductions in energy consumption and environmental pollution. Solar chemical conversion from O 2 to H 2 O 2 is considered to be the most promising alternative method, nevertheless, weak energy coupling between photo-charges and adsorbed species limits the yield of H 2 O 2 . Herein, we demonstrate that oxygen vacancy-rich BiVO 4 can efficiently generate H 2 O 2 in pure water under visible light irradiation without any heterojunctions or precious-metal cocatalysts. Oxygen vacancies, as typical coordinatively unsaturated sites, enable efficient O 2 adsorption and enrichment, and then thriving chemisorption can spatially facilitate photoexcited electrons transfer to oxygen species. Compared to pristine BiVO 4 , defective BiVO 4 enhanced O 2 adsorption and interfacial electron transfer rate to O 2 by 19 and 23 times, respectively, resulting in a more than 32-fold increase in H 2 O 2 production. This research offers a new perspective for bridging solar and chemical energy by assuring species chemisorption.