N,F-Codoped Carbon Nanocages: An Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Peroxide Electroproduction in Alkaline and Acidic Solutions

Exploiting efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) electroproduction by oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is highly desired in practical application. Herein, nitrogen- and fluoride-codoped carbon nanocages (NF-Cs) are successfully synthesized through a simple and scalable template method. With the aid of a porous structure, a large surface area, and the introduction of N and F atoms, NF-Cs show excellent electrocatalytic performance for H 2 O 2 electroproduction in alkaline solution (pH 13) with a faradaic efficiency of 89.6% at very positive applied potential (0.74 V). In acid solution (pH 0.35), the faradaic efficiency of H 2 O 2 electroproduction stably maintains at 85%–88% in the range of 0.4–0.72 V potential. The experimental and theoretical results reveal that the strong synergistic effect between the doped N and F atoms facilitate the H 2 O 2 electroproduction through 2e ORR. That is, the doped N atoms promote O 2 molecule adsorption on the catalyst surface, and the F atoms facilitate the desorption of the *OOH intermediate, which is the key factor for the NF-Cs efficiently catalyzing H 2 O 2 electroproduction. These results provide beneficial references for reasonably designing effective carbon-based electrocatalysts for H 2 O 2 electroproduction.