Template-free synthesis of porous graphitic carbon nitride/carbon composite spheres for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

Porous graphitic carbon nitride/carbon composite spheres were synthesized using melamine and cyanuric acid, and glucose as the carbon nitride and carbon precursor, respectively. The 3D hierarchical composites efficiently catalyzed the oxygen reduction reaction with an onset potential of 0.90 V and a kinetic current density of 23.92 mA cm⁻². These merit their promising applications in fuel cells and metal–air batteries.