Enhancing Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene by Active Sites Implantation

The shortage of nitrogen active sites and relatively low nitrogen content result in unsatisfying eletrocatalytic activity and durability of nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Here we report a novel approach to substantially enhance electrocatalytic oxygen reduction on NG electrode by the implantation of nitrogen active sites with mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (mpg-C3N4). Electrochemical characterization revealed that in neutral electrolyte the resulting NG (I-NG) exhibited super electrocatalytic activity (completely 100% of four-electron ORR pathway) and durability (nearly no activity change after 100,000 potential cyclings). When I-NG was used as cathode catalyst in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), power density and its drop percentage were also much better than the NG and Pt/C ones, demonstrating that the current I-NG was a perfect alternative to Pt/C and offered a new potential for constructing high-performance and less expensive cathode which is crucial for large-scale application of MFC technology.