The development of highly efficient metal-free carbon electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one very promising strategy for the exploitation and commercialization of renewable and clean energy, but this still remains a significant challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a facile approach to prepare three-dimensional (3D) N-doped carbon with a sp3 /sp2 carbon interface derived from ionic liquids via a simple pyrolysis process. The tunable hybrid sp3 and sp2 carbon composition and pore structures stem from the transformation of ionic liquids to polymerized organics and introduction of a Co metal salt. Through tuning both composition and pores, the 3D N-doped nanocarbon with a high sp3 /sp2 carbon ratio on the surface exhibits a superior electrocatalytic performance for the ORR compared to that of the commercial Pt/C in Zn-air batteries. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the improved ORR performance can be ascribed to the existence of N dopants at the sp3 /sp2 carbon interface, which can lower the theoretical overpotential of the ORR.
Keywords: electrocatalysis; metal-air batteries; metal-free electrocatalysts; oxygen reduction reaction; porous carbon.
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