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Honeycomb Carbon Nanofibers: A Superhydrophilic O 2 ‐Entrapping Electrocatalyst Enables Ultrahigh Mass Activity for the Two‐Electron Oxygen Reduction Reaction
Author(s) -
Dong Kai,
Liang Jie,
Wang Yuanyuan,
Xu Zhaoquan,
Liu Qian,
Luo Yonglan,
Li Tingshuai,
Li Lei,
Shi Xifeng,
Asiri Abdullah M.,
Li Quan,
Ma Dongwei,
Sun Xuping
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202101880
Subject(s) - electrocatalyst , catalysis , carbon nanofiber , superhydrophilicity , materials science , chemical engineering , electron transfer , carbon fibers , nanofiber , chemistry , nanotechnology , wetting , electrode , photochemistry , electrochemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , composite number , engineering
Electrocatalytic two‐electron oxygen reduction has emerged as a promising alternative to the energy‐ and waste‐intensive anthraquinone process for distributed H 2 O 2 production. This process, however, suffers from strong competition from the four‐electron pathway leading to low H 2 O 2 selectivity. Herein, we report using a superhydrophilic O 2 ‐entrapping electrocatalyst to enable superb two‐electron oxygen reduction electrocatalysis. The honeycomb carbon nanofibers (HCNFs) are robust and capable of achieving a high H 2 O 2 selectivity of 97.3 %, much higher than that of its solid carbon nanofiber counterpart. Impressively, this catalyst achieves an ultrahigh mass activity of up to 220 A g −1 , surpassing all other catalysts for two‐electron oxygen reduction reaction. The superhydrophilic porous carbon skeleton with rich oxygenated functional groups facilitates efficient electron transfer and better wetting of the catalyst by the electrolyte, and the interconnected cavities allow for more effective entrapping of the gas bubbles. The catalytic mechanism is further revealed by in situ Raman analysis and density functional theory calculations.