Constructing holey graphene monoliths via supramolecular assembly: Enriching nitrogen heteroatoms up to the theoretical limit for hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Carbocatalysts with low cost and high stability are highly desirable to substitute expensive Pt-based materials for electrocatalysis. High conductivity, highly porous structure and high concentration of dopants are essential for efficient metal-free carbon-based electrocatalysts. Herein, a facile method was utilized to fabricate nitrogen-rich holey graphene monoliths (Nr-HGM) from cheap molecules and ammonium sulfate with the nitrogen content close to the upper limit of nitrogen-doped carbons. Our sample showed relatively high electrochemical catalytic activity and stability for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in both acid and base electrolytes, surpassing state-of-the-art metal-free HER catalysts in the literature.