Graphene quantum dot hybrids as efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction

The doping of heteroatoms into graphene quantum dot nanostructures provides an efficient way to tune the electronic structures and make more active sites for electro-catalysis, photovoltaic, or light emitting applications. Other than the modification of chemical composition, novel architecture is very desirable to enrich the research area and provides a wide range of choices for the diverse applications. Herein, we show a novel lotus seedpod surface-like pattern of zero-dimension (0D) seed-like N-GODs of ca.3 nm embedded on the surface of a two-dimension (2D) N-GQD sheet of ca.35 nm. It is demonstrated that different photoluminescence (PL) could be tuned easily, and the novel multidimensional structure displays excellent performance toward oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solutions. Thus, the fabricated N-GQD hybrids show bright perspective in biomedical imaging, biosensors, and conversion and storage of energy.