Albashir Abdalazeez Ismail Mohamed, Lu Xingyu, Dai Xueya, Qi Wei
School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang, 110016, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
Commun Chem. 2024 May 13;7(1):111. doi: 10.1038/s42004-024-01194-3.
Two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e ORR) is a promising alternative to energy-intensive anthraquinone process for hydrogen peroxide (HO) production. Metal-free nanocarbon materials have garnered intensive attention as highly prospective electrocatalysts for HO production, and an in-depth understanding of their porous structure and active sites have become a critical scientific challenge. The present research investigates a range of porous carbon catalysts, including non-porous, microporous, and mesoporous structures, to elucidate the impacts of porous structures on 2e ORR activity. The results highlighted the superiority of mesoporous carbon over other porous materials, demonstrating remarkable HO selectivity. Furthermore, integration of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data analysis with electrochemical assessment results unravels the moderate surface oxygen content is the key to increase 2e ORR activity. These results not only highlight the intricate interplay between pore structure and oxygen content in determining catalytic selectivity, but also enable the design of carbon catalysts for specific electrochemical reactions.
双电子氧还原反应（2e ORR）是一种有前景的替代能源密集型蒽醌法生产过氧化氢（HO）的方法。无金属纳米碳材料作为生产HO的极具前景的电催化剂已引起广泛关注，深入了解其多孔结构和活性位点已成为一项关键的科学挑战。本研究调查了一系列多孔碳催化剂，包括无孔、微孔和介孔结构，以阐明多孔结构对2e ORR活性的影响。结果突出了介孔碳相对于其他多孔材料的优越性，显示出显著的HO选择性。此外，将X射线光电子能谱（XPS）数据分析与电化学评估结果相结合，揭示了适度的表面氧含量是提高2e ORR活性的关键。这些结果不仅突出了孔结构和氧含量在决定催化选择性方面的复杂相互作用，还为特定电化学反应的碳催化剂设计提供了可能。
