N-doped carbon nanotubes supported CoSe2 nanoparticles: A highly efficient and stable catalyst for H2O2 electrosynthesis in acidic media

Electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) provides an attractive alternative to anthraquinone process for H 2 O 2 synthesis. Rational design of earth-abundant electrocatalysts for H 2 O 2 synthesis via a two-electron ORR process in acids is attractive but still very challenging. In this work, we report that nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes as a multi-functional support for CoSe 2 nanoparticles not only keep CoSe 2 nanoparticles well dispersed but alter the crystal structure, which in turn improves the overall catalytic behaviors and thereby renders high O 2 -to-H 2 O 2 conversion efficiency. In 0.1 M HClO 4 , such CoSe 2 @NCNTs hybrid delivers a high H 2 O 2 selectivity of 93.2% and a large H 2 O 2 yield rate of 172 ppm·h −1 with excellent durability up to 24 h. Moreover, CoSe 2 @NCNTs performs effectively for organic dye degradation via electro-Fenton process.