Boosting the photosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide directly from pure water and air over S-scheme fiber heterojunction

The generation of solar H₂O₂ through the reaction of O₂ and H₂O is a cost-effective and environmental-friendly procedure. Nevertheless, most photocatalysts are only active when sacrificial donors are present, thereby limiting their practicality. Herein, the S-scheme fiber heterojunction Nb₂O₅@NiS (NONS) was fabricated as a catalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide evolution through an electro-spinning-assisted ion exchange strategy. In situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis was then used to investigate the excellent performance (0.48 mmol g⁻¹) of the optimized photocatalyst NONS-30 obtained directly from pure water and air through the S-scheme charge transfer path. Following scavenger capture experiments and electron spin resonance spectroscopy, an overlooked pathway was discovered that implicated ¹O₂ in the formation of H₂O₂. This work also revealed an alternative reaction pathway to produce H₂O₂ by fabricating fiber heterojunction photocatalysts.