Property–Performance Relationship of Waste Floral Foam‐Derived Nanoporous Carbon as Metal‐Free Oxygen Evolution Reaction and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalyst: Implications of N and S Doping

Designing electrocatalysts with high‐performance potential requires a thorough investigation of the relationships between property changes and electrocatalytic activity. This study compares the effect of N‐doping and N, S‐codoping on the properties of waste floral foam derived pristine nanoporous carbon to enhance electrocatalytic activity. N, S‐codoping modulates the textural, structural, and chemical properties of pristine nanoporous carbon that are preferable to oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. N, S‐codoped nanoporous carbon having a large surface area (1231 m 2 g −1 ), higher content of defects, OH−, CO, and pyridinic N exhibits superior OER and HER activity with overpotentials 290 and −180 mV, respectively at 10 mA cm −2 , emphasizing the synergetic effect of dual atoms nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) in enhancing electrocatalytic performance. The work proposed here presents the implementation of “waste‐to‐energy” through repurposing of waste floral foam into N, S‐codoped nanoporous carbon as a metal‐free bifunctional electrocatalyst for OER and HER.