On May 23, faculty and students from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering published a research paper titled SnSe Nanosheets with Sn Vacancies Catalyze H₂O₂ Production from Water and Oxygen at Ambient Conditions in the internationally renowned academic journal Nature Catalysis. This achievement represents a major breakthrough in the field of green catalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Jiangsu University (JSU) is the first affiliated institution, with Postdoctoral Researcher Zhang Xinyue from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Prof. Wan Yangyang from the School of Materials Science and Engineering as co-first authors. Distinguished Jinshan Prof. Li Shun from School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Prof. Zhao Li-dong from Beihang University are co-corresponding authors.

The study proposes an innovative dynamic defect-induced thermocatalytic strategy, using SnSe nanosheets with Sn vacancies as a catalyst to successfully achieve efficient H₂O₂ synthesis from only water and oxygen under ambient temperature and pressure. The research team discover that introducing Sn vacancies into SnSe nanosheets significantly reduces the energy barrier for water molecule dissociation. Moreover, the migration of Sn vacancies and surface reconstruction enables a dual-channel mechanism for continuous H₂O₂ production, with performance comparable to photocatalytic systems.

This technology requires no light, electricity, or sacrificial agents, relying solely on ambient thermal energy to drive the reaction, thereby realizing a fully green and ideal synthetic pathway. The findings not only provide a transformative solution for the green production of H₂O₂ but also open new research directions for other chemical processes involving water dissociation. The breakthrough is expected to have far-reaching impacts in fields such as green chemical engineering, clean energy, environmental remediation, and biomedicine.