Architecture of large surface area N-doped mesoporous carbon sheets as sustainable electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline electrolyte

In this work, a simple and innovative method is explored to achieve high surface area with substantial mesoporosity by utilizing tetraethyl orthosilicate and dopamine (DA) precursors. The initial step leads to silica/polydopamine (PDA) composite which undergoes a carbonization, and silica etching yields the desired carbon. Our examination confirms the non-covalent interaction in (DA)(2)-dihydroxyindole (DHI) trimer leads to N-doped mesoporous carbon sheet (NCS)-1.0 with large surface area (1068 m(2) g(-1)), high pore volume (0.706 cm(3) g(-1)) and layer thickness of 43 nm. NCS-1.0 offers excessive graphitic, pyridinic N sites thereby resulting in an awesome oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity. Remarkably, it demonstrates a positive onset potential of 0.88 V, current density of 4.3 mA cm(-2), the carrier concentration of 1.27 x 10(16) cm(-3), and flat band potential of 0.45 V. Such combination of both physical and electrochemical factors of NCS-1.0 favours the four-electron pathway, excellent methanol tolerance with long term stability.