(248f) On-Demand Photocatalyzed Flow Production of Hydrogen Peroxide from Immobilized Anthraquinones

Aqueous hydrogen peroxide is an important, versatile commodity chemical across many concentrations ranges that is used widely in the treatment of wastewater, in bleaching applications, as an environmentally friendly disinfectant, and a reagent in chemical technologies. Conventionally, H₂O₂ is produced at scale thermally via the anthraquinone oxidation process (AO) using a combination of molecular anthraquinones, heterogeneous Pd catalysts, and H₂. A process that could eliminate the need for Pd would have environmental, separation, and process intensification advantages. We have previously shown that a biphasic system containing anthraquinone dissolved in organic solvent and water could produce commercially relevant concentrations of H₂O₂ (e.g., 2% w/w) in under 3h. Here, we discuss the development of a technology based on immobilized anthraquinones that can be directly excited with light to produce H₂O₂ in the presence of a hydrogen carrier (e.g., organic solvent or water) batchwise or in a flow configuration. The design of the flow reactors for H₂O₂ production, characterization of the immobilized anthraquinone catalysts, and their effect on H₂O₂ production will be discussed.