Synergistic effect of Nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon/graphene with enhanced catalytic performance for oxygen reduction reaction

Graphical abstract: This work demonstrates an example for turning rubbish into valuable products and addresses the disposal issue of waste biomass simultaneously for environment clean. And the typical sample exhibits excellent catalytic performance toward ORR, which is similar to that of commercial Pt/C. - Highlights: • This work demonstrates an example for turning rubbish into valuable products and addresses the disposal issue of waste biomass. • The HPC/RGO composite not only prevents the aggregation of RGO, but also takes advantage of the synergy between them. • This method was accessible, without using any activator, which is an effective strategy for the large scale application of FCs. - Abstract: Developing efficient and economical catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is important to promote the commercialization of fuel cells. Here, we report a simple and environmentally friendly method to prepare nitrogen (N) –doped hierarchical porous carbon (HPC)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composites by reusing waste biomass (pomelo peel) coupled with graphene oxide (GO). This method is green, low-cost and without using any acid or alkali activator. The typical sample (N-HPC/RGO-1) contains 5.96 at.% nitrogen and larger BET surface area (1194 m²/g). Electrochemical measurements show that N-HPC/RGO-1 exhibits not only a relatively positive onset potential and high current density, but also considerable methanol tolerance and long-term durability in alkaline media as well as in acidic media. The electron transfer number is close to 4, which means that it is mostly via a four-electron pathway toward ORR. The excellent catalytic performance of N-HPC/RGO-1 is due to the synergistic effect of the inherent interwoven network structure of HPC, the good electrical conductivity of RGO, and the heteroatom doping for the composite. More importantly, this work demonstrates a good example for turning discarded rubbish into valuable functional products and addresses the disposal issue of waste biomass simultaneously for environment clean.