Regulating defects and interfacial compatibility of porous carbon derived from oxygen-containing composites to enhance oxygen reduction in aqueous electrolytes

Defects and interfacial compatibility are both of vital importance to catalyze oxygen reduction in aqueous electrolytes. Herein, we present a facile way to synthesize three-dimensional carbon foam from sucrose with acid treatment. After the carbonization of the original acid-treated precursor, the sample with the highest percentages of C-OH exhibits the best electrocatalytic performance among the pure carbon electrocatalysts because of the ameliorative interfacial compatibility. Moreover, large amounts of defects in the carbon matrix could contribute active sites to the oxygen reduction reaction. We also enhance the performance of the carbon foams by doping N atoms, which achieves electrocatalytic properties that are comparable to those of commercial Pt/C catalysts.