Direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from plasma-water interactions

Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) is usually considered to be an important reagent in green chemistry since water is the only by-product in H(2)O(2) involved oxidation reactions. Early studies show that direct synthesis of H(2)O(2) by plasma-water interactions is possible, while the factors affecting the H(2)O(2) production in this method remain unclear. Herein, we present a study on the H(2)O(2) synthesis by atmospheric pressure plasma-water interactions. The results indicate that the most important factors for the H(2)O(2) production are the processes taking place at the plasma-water interface, including sputtering, electric field induced hydrated ion emission, and evaporation. The H(2)O(2) production rate reaches ~1200 μmol/h when the liquid cathode is purified water or an aqueous solution of NaCl with an initial conductivity of 10500 μS cm(−1).