Efficient oxygen reduction to H2O2 in highly porous manganese and nitrogen co-doped carbon nanorods enabling electro-degradation of bulk organics. (December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Biemolt, Jasper; van der Veen, Koen; Geels, Norbert J.; Rothenberg, Gadi; Yan, Ning
• Is Part Of: Carbon. Volume 155(2019)
• Page Start: 643
• Page End: 649
• Publication Date: 2019-12
• Subjects: Electrocatalysis -- Hydrogen peroxide synthesis -- Oxygen reduction -- Mesoporous carbon -- Wastewater treatment; Carbon -- Periodicals; Carbone -- Périodiques; Koolstof; Toepassingen; Electronic journals; 546.681
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2019.09.034
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-6223

Abstract

Abstract: The direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide using sustainable energy and molecular oxygen is a promising alternative approach to the conventional batch synthesis. Here we present a manganese and nitrogen co-doped carbon material which catalyzes the selective reduction of dioxygen in an acidic environment to hydrogen peroxide. The onset potential is close to 0.7 V, with >98% H2 O2 selectivity in the range of 0.7–0.5 V vs RHE. This is the highest reported to date, outperforming many bimetallic noble metal catalysts. Besides, this doped carbon material is hierarchically porous, featuring both a large mesopore volume (4.54 mL g −1 ) and a high specific surface area (1333 m 2 g −1 ). This enables the effective adsorption of bulky organics such as methylene blue (385 mg g −1 ). Combined with the formation of hydroxyl radicals during electrochemical H2 O2 generation, this material also enables the efficient electrochemical degradation of methylene blue, as evidenced by in situ UV–vis spectrometry. Graphical abstract: Image 1