ZnO-promoted dechlorination for hierarchically nanoporous carbon as superior oxygen reduction electrocatalyst

Abstract The dechlorination of unconventional carbon source: polyvinyl dichloride (PVDC) by ZnO at the presence of melamine was used to prepare hierarchically Porous N-doped nanoCarbon (PDC). ZnO played the multirole of dechlorination agent, mesopore templates, and most importantly, ZnCl 2 generation source. ZnCl 2 , at latter high temperature treatment, could promote carbonization and lead to hierarchical micro- and mesopore formation, which facilitated mass transportation for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The 900 °C-annealed PDC exhibited ultrahigh activity which comprehensively surpassed the commercially available 20 wt% Pt/C.