Issue 10, 2023

Pre-embedding an energetic metal–organic framework to create interconnected pore structures in nitrogen-doped carbon for green and effective hydrogen peroxide electrosynthesis

Abstract

The two-electron (2e) oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a green way to produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). However, the ORR occurs at the gas–liquid–solid interface, and the active sites in the electrocatalyst are buried, preventing them from taking part in the reaction and lowering the reaction efficiency. To boost the efficacy of the 2e ORR, the template method is widely used to construct pores to optimize the mass transfer process; however, the post-treatment using strong acids and bases will inevitably produce toxic pollutants. Herein, an interconnected pore structure was produced in the carbon electrocatalyst by utilizing an “inside-out” energy release pore-making strategy triggered by the detonation of an energy metal–organic framework (EMOF). In order to expose additional active sites for the 2e ORR, the pre-buried EMOF releases large amounts of gases, generates shocks to the carbon electrocatalyst during the pyrolysis process, and avoids acid–base post-treatment. The electrocatalyst demonstrated a remarkable H2O2 yield of 74.98 mg h−1 and an H2O2 selectivity of over 95%. It is worth noting that the electrocatalyst can consistently produce H2O2 for more than 42 hours with negligible performance degradation. This facile and green strategy can be applied to modify the pore structure of the electrocatalysts to achieve the desired 2e ORR performance, thus enabling the green and efficient electrosynthesis of H2O2.

Graphical abstract: Pre-embedding an energetic metal–organic framework to create interconnected pore structures in nitrogen-doped carbon for green and effective hydrogen peroxide electrosynthesis

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 Feb 2023
Accepted
20 Apr 2023
First published
21 Apr 2023

Green Chem., 2023,25, 4113-4121

Pre-embedding an energetic metal–organic framework to create interconnected pore structures in nitrogen-doped carbon for green and effective hydrogen peroxide electrosynthesis

Y. Guo, J. Han, S. Li, Z. Xia, S. Chen, G. Xie, S. Gao and Q. Yang, Green Chem., 2023, 25, 4113 DOI: 10.1039/D3GC00580A

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