Metal free nitrogen doped hollow mesoporous graphene-analogous spheres as effective electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

Nitrogen-doped hollow mesoporous carbon spheres has been synthesized from mesoporous silica spheres using glycine as carbon and nitrogen precursor. The wall of the spheres is composed by broken graphene. The metal free nitrogen-doped hollow mesoporous carbon spheres are proven to be active electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution. A unique advantage of the nitrogen-doped hollow mesoporous carbon sphere is its methanol-tolerant property because of the absence of active metal. The catalytic activity is ascribed to the pyridinic-nitrogen formed during pyrolysis and the graphene-like structure. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on the nitrogen-doped hollow mesoporous carbon sphere as a metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction which is an important reaction in fuel cell. The prepared mesoporous carbon material can also be used as catalyst support and find application both in the anode and cathode of fuel cell.