Formation of N-rich Hierarchically Porous Carbon via Direct Growth ZIF-8 on C3N4 Nanosheet with Enhancing Electrochemical Performance

Presented here are the synthesis of series N-rich hierarchically porous carbons via disposition of ZIF-8 on g-C3N4 nanosheets and their uses as electrode materials in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and supercapacitor. Electron microscopy images show the successful formation of 2D carbon structures through using layered C3N4 as a novel template and ZIF-8 as carbon precursor. The meso and macropores of the ZIF-8 derived carbons are significantly developed with g-C3N4 incorporation. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the resulting 2D carbons exhibit enhancing performance of supercapacitance up to 159.0F/g at a current density of 1A/g, meanwhile the optimized electrocatalytic activity for ORR in O-2 saturated 0.1M KOH electrolyte, with a distinct oxygen reduction peak at 0.71V that was comparable to the value of the referenced Pt/C catalyst. Notably, this is the first investigation of layered g-C3N4 supported ZIF-8 derived carbons for ORR and supercapacitance. This work may offer a new way to prepare novel electrocatalysts by effective integration of ZIF-8 derived carbon and the g-C3N4 skeleton.