A surface reconstruction route for increasingly improved photocatalytic H2O2 production using Sr2Bi3Ta2O11Cl

Photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) generation is attractive for the chemical industry and energy production. However, photocatalysts generally deteriorate significantly during use to limit their application. Here we present highly active Sr2Bi3Ta2O11Cl single-crystal nanoplates for conversion of O2 to H(2)O(2 )using ambient air with a production rate of similar to 3 mmol h(-1) g(-1) (maximum 17.5% photon conversion). Importantly, Sr2Bi3Ta2O11Cl is not only stable during 30 days of H(2)O(2 )production but also gets consistently activated to increase the H(2)O(2 )yield by >244%, unlike any other catalyst for H(2)O(2 )production. Multi-pronged characterization confirms that the synergistic increase in activity originates from in situ surface reconstruction by oxygen-deficient vacancy associate formation that improves (i) surface oxygen adsorption, (ii) sunlight harvesting, and (iii) charge-transfer from the low-valent metal atoms surrounding oxygen vacancies to reactants. The study establishes the prospects of rational defect engineering for realizing non-degrading photocatalysts for realistic H(2)O(2 )production.