Optimizing Heteroatom Doping for Efficient Hydrogen Peroxide Production via Oxygen Reduction
Yi Wang, Yuxin Wang, Jin Zhao, Tao Tang, Baoliang Lv, Yuhong Chang, Tianjun Hu, Junming Zhang, Ergui Luo, Jianfeng Jia
Abstract
Electrocatalytic oxygen reduction has emerged as a promising and environmentally sustainable method for the on-site production of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of porous carbon materials (SNC) with varied N and S doping ratios by using a facile pyrolysis method. Among them, the optimized catalyst exhibits excellent activity (2.1 mA cm –2 at 0.2 V) for the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e – ORR) with high H 2 O 2 selectivity of 68%. Carbon atoms near graphite N are revealed as the main active centers for 2e – ORR catalysis. The impressive performance is attributed to the abundant graphitic N sites, the advanced porous structure resulting from S atom stripping, and the electronic effect caused by S codoping. This work highlights the importance of comprehensive optimization of activity and selectivity in designing 2e – ORR catalysts and presents a facile and low-cost method for preparing heteroatom-doped carbon materials.