Formation of N‐rich Hierarchically Porous Carbon via Direct Growth ZIF‐8 on C ₃ N ₄ Nanosheet with Enhancing Electrochemical Performance

Abstract

Abstract Presented here are the synthesis of series N‐rich hierarchically porous carbons via disposition of ZIF‐8 on g‐C 3 N 4 nanosheets and their uses as electrode materials in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and supercapacitor. Electron microscopy images show the successful formation of 2D carbon structures through using layered C 3 N 4 as a novel template and ZIF‐8 as carbon precursor. The meso and macropores of the ZIF‐8 derived carbons are significantly developed with g‐C 3 N 4 incorporation. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the resulting 2D carbons exhibit enhancing performance of supercapacitance up to 159.0 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g, meanwhile the optimized electrocatalytic activity for ORR in O 2 saturated 0.1 M KOH electrolyte, with a distinct oxygen reduction peak at 0.71 V that was comparable to the value of the referenced Pt/C catalyst. Notably, this is the first investigation of layered g‐C 3 N 4 supported ZIF‐8 derived carbons for ORR and supercapacitance. This work may offer a new way to prepare novel electrocatalysts by effective integration of ZIF‐8 derived carbon and the g‐C 3 N 4 skeleton.