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Porous heterostructure of h-BN/carbon as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen peroxide generation

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Abstract

We successfully synthesized a porous carbon material with abundant hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) dispersed on a carbon matrix (p-BN-C) as efficient electrocatalysts for two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e− ORR) to produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). This catalyst was fabricated via ball-milling-assisted h-BN exfoliation and subsequent growth of carbon structure. In alkaline solutions, the h-BN/carbon heterostructure exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity for H2O2 generation measured by a rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE), with a remarkable selectivity of up to 90–97% in the potential range of 0.3–0.6 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), superior to most of the reported carbon-based electrocatalysts. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations indicated that the B atoms at the h-BN heterostructure interface were crucial active sites. These results underscore the remarkable catalytic activity of heterostructure and provide a novel approach for tailoring carbon-based catalysts, enhancing the selectivity and activity in the production of H2O2 through heterostructure engineering.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by “National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32371810), the Foundation Research Project of Jiangsu Province (BK20221338), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2023M731702), Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, Nanjing Forestry University, merit-based funding for Nanjing innovation and technology project.

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  1. Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Road, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Xiang Xu, Qixin Yuan, Yuhan Wu, Jiawei He & Mengmeng Fan

  2. Key Lab of Biomass Energy and Material, Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, Chinese Academy of Forestry, 16 Suojin Wucun Road, Nanjing, 210042, China

    Yuying Zhao & Mengmeng Fan

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Contributions

XX has made significant contributions to this work. MMF designed the experiments. XX performed the major experiments and analyzed the results. QXY, YHW, and JWH carried out the electrochemical evaluations. YYZ conducted DFT calculations. XX wrote and revised the paper. MMF supervised the entire study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mengmeng Fan.

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42823_2024_718_MOESM1_ESM.docx

The experimental section. The SEM images of the p-BN-C and p-C. The HR-TEM images of the p-BN-C and pBN. The XPS data of the pBN. The collecting efficiency of H2O2. The retention rate of 26 mM H2O2 in 0.1 M KOH solution during 10 h at room temperature and out of light. The CV curves obtained for the p-BN-C, p-C, and p-B/N-C, the calculated ECSAs. Comparison of the catalytic performance between the p-BN-C and the recently reported electrocatalysts in an alkaline environment. The DFT-calculated data (DOCX 2198 KB)

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Xu, X., Zhao, Y., Yuan, Q. et al. Porous heterostructure of h-BN/carbon as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen peroxide generation. Carbon Lett. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42823-024-00718-0

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