Efficient Electrochemical Production of H2O2 on Hollow N-Doped Carbon Nanospheres with Abundant Micropores

Electrocatalytic two-electron (2e–) oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been regarded as an efficient strategy to achieve onsite H2O2 generation under ambient conditions. However, due to the sluggish kinetics and competitive reaction between 2e– and 4e– ORR, exploring more efficient ORR catalysts with dominant 2e– ORR selectivity is of significance. Herein, hollow N-doped carbon spheres (HNCS) with abundant micropores through a template-directed method are presented. Consequently, the selectivity of the HNCS reaches ∼91.9% at 0.7 V (vs RHE), and the output for H2O2 production is up to 618.5 mmol gcatalyst–1 h–1 in 0.1 M KOH solution. The enhanced performance of HNCS for H2O2 electrosynthesis could be attributed to the hollow structure and heteroatom/defect/pore incorporation. The strategy presented here could shed light on the design of efficient carbon-based materials for improved 2e– ORR.