With increasing interest in hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as an environmentally friendly oxidant for environmental remediation and a promising liquid fuel, we present herein a novel method for green and sustainable H₂O₂ production using versatile dopamine-based materials, demonstrating the conversion of H₂O₂ generation mechanism from a chemical to a photocatalytic process along with the structural transformation of dopamine to polydopamine. During the auto-oxidation of dopamine in the presence of oxygen, which involved the transition of catechol to hydroquinone groups and the ring closure of the amine group, H₂O₂ was chemically generated at a rate of 1.61 mmol g^-1h⁻¹ without an extra electron donor and additional energy sources. In contrast, self-polymerized polydopamine exhibited an effective photocatalytic H₂O₂ generation at a rate of 0.53 mmol g^-1h⁻¹ owing to its visible light absorptivity and semiconducting property. We anticipate that these unique properties of dopamine will provide a new class of organic-based, highly efficient solar-to-H₂O₂ conversion and sustainable energy systems in the future.

随着人们对过氧化氢 (H ₂ O ₂ ) 作为环境修复的环保氧化剂和有前途的液体燃料越来越感兴趣，我们在此提出了一种使用多功能多巴胺基材料生产绿色和可持续 H ₂ O ₂的新方法，证明了H ₂ O ₂生成机制从化学转化为光催化过程以及多巴胺向聚多巴胺的结构转变。在氧气存在下多巴胺的自动氧化过程中，涉及儿茶酚向氢醌基团的转变和胺基的闭环，H ₂ O ₂在没有额外电子供体和额外能源的情况下以1.61 mmol g ^-1 h ^-1的速率化学生成。相比之下，由于其可见光吸收性和半导体特性，自聚合聚多巴胺以0.53 mmol g ^-1 h ^-1的速率表现出有效的光催化H ₂ O _2生成。我们预计，多巴胺的这些独特特性将在未来提供一类新的有机基、高效太阳能到 H ₂ O ₂转换和可持续能源系统。