Earth-Abundant Catalysts for H2O2 Production with Inherent Separation

Industrially, hydrogen peroxide is produced by the 'Anthraquinone Oxidation' process. While this process accounts for nearly all the hydrogen peroxide currently made, it uses unsustainable, expensive precious metal catalysts like palladium. The use of non-toxic, earth-abundant metals like cobalt, nickel, and chromium will improve the first step of catalytic hydrogen peroxide production (the hydrogenation of quinones to hydroquinones). The separation of these homogeneous catalysts from anthraquinones will be made easier by immobilization of the anthraquinones on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and liquid-like nanoparticle organic hybrid materials (NOHMs). Finally, lithium cations will help catalyze the hydrogenation of the quinones to hydroquinones.