A Janus heteroatom-doped carbon electrocatalyst for hydrazine oxidation

The trade-off between the intrinsic activity and electronic conductivity of carbon materials is a major barrier for electrocatalysis. We report a Janus-type carbon material combining electrically conductive nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) and catalytically active boron, nitrogen co-doped carbon (BNC). The integration of NC with BNC can not only ensure high electronic conductivity of the hybrid, but also achieve an enhancement in the intrinsic activity of the BNC side due to the electron redistribution on their coupling interfaces. In the electrocatalytic hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR), the Janus carbon electrocatalyst exhibits superior activity than their single counterparts and simple physical mixtures. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the NC/BNC interfaces simultaneously promote efficient electron transport and decrease the free energy of the rate-determining step in the HzOR process. A Janus carbon-based structure with different heteroatom doping levels on two sides can resolve the conflict between intrinsic activity and electronic conductivity to boost the catalytic performance of carbon-based electrocatalysts in the hydrazine oxidation reaction.

Automated summary

We report a Janus-type carbon material combining electrically conductive nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) and catalytically active boron, nitrogen co-doped carbon (BNC), which can resolve the trade-off between intrinsic activity and electronic conductivity. The Janus carbon electrocatalyst exhibits superior activity in the electrocatalytic hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) compared to single counterparts and physical mixtures. The NC/BNC interfaces promote efficient electron transport and decrease the free energy of the rate-determining step in the HzOR process.