Enhancing pyridinic nitrogen level in graphene to promote electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction

We develop an efficient approach to fabricate nitrogen-doped graphene with tunable pyridinic nitrogen levels (from 1.1 to 1.8 at.%), abundant in-plane holes and high surface areas (623 m(2) g(-1)) via a hydrothermal treatment of graphene oxide with hydrogen peroxide and subsequent annealing under ammonia gas. It is found that the chemical etching is beneficial to the formation of pyridinic nitrogen in graphene during the nitrogen-doping process, which is crucial to enhancing the electrocatalytic properties of graphene for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Hence, the optimized NG exhibits good electrocatalytic activity, more positive onset potential than Pt-C (-0.08 V versus -0.09 V), good durability, and high selectivity when it is employed as a metal-free catalyst for ORR. This approach may uncover a mechanism in escalation of pyridinic N atoms doped on the graphene basal edge and provide an efficient platform for the synthesis of a series of heteroatom-doped graphene with tunable heteroatom content for broad applications.