Efficient Electrochemical Production of H₂O₂ on Hollow N-Doped Carbon Nanospheres with Abundant Micropores

Abstract

Electrocatalytic two-electron (2e^-) oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been regarded as an efficient strategy to achieve onsite H₂O₂ generation under ambient conditions. However, due to the sluggish kinetics and competitive reaction between 2e^- and 4e^- ORR, exploring more efficient ORR catalysts with dominant 2e^- ORR selectivity is of significance. Herein, hollow N-doped carbon spheres (HNCS) with abundant micropores through a template-directed method are presented. Consequently, the selectivity of the HNCS reaches ∼91.9% at 0.7 V (vs RHE), and the output for H₂O₂ production is up to 618.5 mmol g_catalyst^-1 h^-1 in 0.1 M KOH solution. The enhanced performance of HNCS for H₂O₂ electrosynthesis could be attributed to the hollow structure and heteroatom/defect/pore incorporation. The strategy presented here could shed light on the design of efficient carbon-based materials for improved 2e^- ORR.