Preparation of N-Doped Nanoporous Carbon from Crude Biomass and its Electrochemical Activity

Abstract

H2O2 detection plays an important role in electrochemical sensing since H2O2 often acts as an intermediate product or regulator in various reactions. Nanoporous carbon (NPC) can be a potential candidate in electrochemical sensing because of its high specific surface area, various pore sizes and structures. In this work, we reported the preparation of N-doped NPC derived from the highly available, accessible and recyclable plant Typha orientalis. The products have high surface area (highest surface areas of 1439.0 m2 g-1) and a number of nanopores. Highest content of nitrogen atom in the product is 3.66 at.%). Typical product exhibits high electrocatalytic activity for reduction of hydrogen peroxide. The product may have further use for glucose biosensing. We developed a low-cost, simple and readily scalable approach to prepare the excellent carbon electrocatalyst directly from crude biomass. In addition, because of high surface area and doping of nitrogen element, the product may find broad applications in the fields of supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, gas uptake and so on.