Simple preparation of nanoporous few-layer nitrogen-doped graphene for use as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions

We prepared nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) by simple pyrolysis of graphene oxide and polyaniline, which was selected as the N source. The resulting NG contains 2.4 at.% N, of which as high as 1.2 at.% is quaternary N. Electrochemical characterizations reveal that the NG has excellent catalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in an alkaline electrolyte, including a desirable four-electron pathway for the formation of water, large kinetic-limiting current density, long-term stability and good tolerance to methanol crossover. In addition, we demonstrate that the NG also has high catalytic activity toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER), rendering its potential application as a bi-functional catalyst for both ORR and OER.