Graphitized Nitrogen-Doped Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Derived from Ionic Liquid; Catalytic Performance Toward ORR

Nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) materials were fabricated by the carbonization of ionic liquid (1-methyl-3-phenethyl-1H-imidazolium hydrogen sulfate) and guanine using hard templating with ordered mesoporous silica SBA-15. Porosity, order of graphitization, and nitrogen content of as-synthesized OMCs were evaluated as the result of carbonization temperature and the content of guanine in precursors. Ionic liquid impregnated graphite electrode was used as simple and novel probe for the electrochemical characterization the resulted OMCs and their catalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The effects of structural characteristics of OMCs as the result of carbonization temperature and guanine contents were studied on ORR. This study gives both insights on the mechanism of ORR on different nitrogen functionalities in nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructures and how to treat samples to maximize the catalytic efficiency toward ORR.