Two‐electron Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Nanocarbon Materials for Onsite H2O2 Electrochemical Synthesis: Selectivity Enhancement via Oxygen and Nitrogen co‐Doping

Abstract

AbstractProduction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) through the two‐electron pathway of electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction is a green and convenient route, which has attracted considerable attention in the field of energy and catalysis. However, the high cost of noble Pt‐based catalyst and H2O2 selectivity and stability need to be further refined for large‐scale production. Herein, we reported a O, N co‐doped mesoporous nanocarbon catalyst. The introduction of nitrogen atoms increases the electrochemically active surface area, promotes the mass transfer capacity, and reduces the impedance of electron transfer. The absolute contents of each oxygen and nitrogen functional group in the catalyst were calculated according to XPS, which reveals that pyridine nitrogen and pyrrole nitrogen might contribute most to the two‐electron electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction. In addition, O, N co‐doping significantly promoted the two‐electron pathway of electrocatalytic oxygen reduction, and the selectivity of hydrogen peroxide reached 93 %. The present work provides a reference for the rational design of functional groups of electrocatalysts for highly selective electrosynthesis of H2O2.