Honeycomb Carbon Nanofibers: A Superhydrophilic O2‐Entrapping Electrocatalyst Enables Ultrahigh Mass Activity for the Two‐Electron Oxygen Reduction Reaction

• DOI: 10.1002/anie.202101880
• Publication Date: 2021-02-25T11:12:50Z
• Authors: Kai Dong; Jie Liang; Yuanyuan Wang; Zhaoquan Xu; Qian Liu; Yonglan Luo; Tingshuai Li; Lei Li; Xifeng Shi; Abdullah M. Asiri; Quan Li; Dongwei Ma; Xuping Sun
• Keywords: Superhydrophilicity; Carbon fibers

Abstract Electrocatalytic two‐electron oxygen reduction has emerged as a promising alternative to the energy‐ and waste‐intensive anthraquinone process for distributed H 2 O production. This process, however, suffers from strong competition four‐electron pathway leading low selectivity. Herein, we report using superhydrophilic ‐entrapping electrocatalyst enable superb electrocatalysis. The honeycomb carbon nanofibers (HCNFs) are robust capable of achieving high selectivity 97.3 %, much higher than that its solid nanofiber counterpart. Impressively, this catalyst achieves an ultrahigh mass activity up 220 A g −1 , surpassing all other catalysts reaction. porous skeleton with rich oxygenated functional groups facilitates efficient electron transfer better wetting by electrolyte, interconnected cavities allow more effective entrapping gas bubbles. catalytic mechanism is further revealed in situ Raman analysis density theory calculations.