Sodium ferric EDTA-derived Fe-N-C material for selectively electrocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide

A cheap sodium ferric EDTA-derived material (EDTAFeNa-KB-HT1) was prepared via one-step pyrolysis of a complex of Ketjenblack EC-300J and inorganic-organic hybrid EDTAFeNa, which was employed as both nitrogen and ferric precursors. The EDTAFeNa-KB-HT1 was proved to be an iron and nitrogen co-doped Fe-N-C material with micro-mesoporous structure and large surface area. The EDTAFeNa-KB-HT1 exhibited high selectivity (80-100%) towards oxygen reduction reaction for electrocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concurrently with generation of large current density, which could be potentially a safe, efficient and environment-friendly fuel cell method for the scale production of H2O2.