Accelerated O2 adsorption and stabilized *OOH for electrocatalytic H2O2 production

Abstract

Electrocatalytic hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production via the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e⁻ ORR) is promising, but non-metal catalysts with high selectivity are lacking. Herein, a high content of pyrrolic N doped carbon (HPNC) with small mesopores is constructed. Over 80% H₂O₂ selectivity at a wide potential of 0.2–0.6 V is achieved. The finite element simulation reveals that small pore-size mesopores are beneficial to O₂ adsorption. And in-situ characterization proves that HPNC suppresses the breakage of O–O bond and enhances the stabilization of *OOH intermediates, thus improving the 2e⁻ ORR performance. This work highlights the combination of non-metal active sites and geometry for 2e⁻ ORR electrocatalysis.