One-pot synthesis of hierarchically porous carbons with high microporosity as high-rate electrocatalysts

Developing high-efficient electrocatalysts with expedited kinetics is of great significance for various advanced energy conversion technologies. In this work, a unique N, S co-doped 3D hierarchically porous carbon (P33DTNSC) with high microporosity is synthesized via an "one-pot" tactic without template and further activation. The as-prepared P33DT-NSC electrocatalyst derived from highly crosslinked all-thiophene-based conjugated microporous polymer (CMP) exhibits an enticing oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity with a half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.9 V (versus RHE) and a Tafel slope of 49 mV dec-1 in alkali medium, which are superior to those of commercial Pt/C (20 wt%). Meanwhile, the ORR performance of P33DT-NSC in acidic electrolyte is also comparable to the Pt/C benchmark. Moreover, the P33DT-NSC sample processes good hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities and kinetics in both alkaline and acidic media. This study provides a fundamental guidance and seminal strategy for the rational design and facile synthesis of nanostructured carbon-based catalysts for highrate electrocatalysis.