N,F-Codoped Carbon Nanocages: An Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Peroxide Electroproduction in Alkaline and Acidic Solutions

Exploiting efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) electroproduction by oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is highly desired in practical application. Herein, nitrogen- and fluoride-codoped carbon nanocages (NF-Cs) are successfully synthesized through a simple and scalable template method. With the aid of a porous structure, a large surface area, and the introduction of N and F atoms, NF-Cs show excellent electrocatalytic performance for H2O2 electroproduction in alkaline solution (pH 13) with a faradaic efficiency of 89.6% at very positive applied potential (0.74 V). In acid solution (pH 0.35), the faradaic efficiency of H2O2 electroproduction stably maintains at 85%–88% in the range of 0.4–0.72 V potential. The experimental and theoretical results reveal that the strong synergistic effect between the doped N and F atoms facilitate the H2O2 electroproduction through 2e ORR. That is, the doped N atoms promote O2 molecule adsorption on the catalyst surface, and the F atoms facilitate the desorption of the *OOH intermediate, which is the key factor for the NF-Cs efficiently catalyzing H2O2 electroproduction. These results provide beneficial references for reasonably designing effective carbon-based electrocatalysts for H2O2 electroproduction.