Graphitic N in nitrogen-Doped carbon promotes hydrogen peroxide synthesis from electrocatalytic oxygen reduction

By Junyu Zhang, Gong Zhang, Shengyao Jin, Yujun Zhou, Qinghua Ji, H. Lan, Huijuan Liu, J. Qu. 2020

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Abstract Electrocatalytic two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e− ORR) is a promising strategy to achieve hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production, which can replace the anthraquinone method in industrial processes. Nitrogen-doped carbon materials are active and selective electrocatalysts for 2e− ORR; however, it remains challenging to develop N-doped carbons for practical H2O2 production and pinpoint the exact role of nitrogen functionalities. Here, we examine covalent organic framework-derived nitrogen-doped carbons with well-defined porous structure and tunable N species for electrocatalytic H2O2 production. Electrochemical studies show their highest ORR activity and H2O2 selectivity of up to 75% in alkaline electrolyte. Notably, chronoamperometric bulk electrolysis achieves an unprecedented carbon-catalyzed H2O2 yield rate of 1286.9 mmol gcatalyst−1 h−1 and a faradaic efficiency of 69.8% at pH 13. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis combined with control experiments reveals that graphitic N is responsible for H2O2 production from 2e− ORR on N-doped carbons. Our work provides insights into the rational development of heteroatom-doped carbon electrocatalysts for efficient H2O2 generation.

Subfields: Materials Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/e162113b50ded9289cf952499b5272cb5208e74a