Hierarchical nitrogen-doped porous graphene/carbon (NPGC) composites were fabricated by a simple and nontemplate method. The morphology characterizations demonstrate that reduced graphene oxide was successfully coated by the carbon derived from glucose, and a well-organized and interpenetrated hierarchical porous structure of NPGC was formed after pyrolysis at 950 °C. Notably, the prepared material, denoted as NPGC-950, has superlarge specific surface area (1510.83 m(2) g(-1)) and relatively high content percentage of pyridinic and graphitic nitrogen. As an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst, NPGC-950 exhibits a high onset potential (0.91 V vs RHE) and a nearly four-electron pathway for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution as well as stronger methanol tolerance and better long-term durability than commercial Pt/C. In view of these excellent features, the obtained hierarchical N-doped metal-free porous carbon material is a promising catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction and could be widely applied in industry.

Although N-doped graphene-based electrocatalysts have shown good performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), they still suffer from the single-type active site in the as-prepared catalyst, limited accessible active surface area because of easy aggregation of graphene, and harsh condition for preparation process of graphene. Therefore, further developing a novel type of graphene-based electrocatalyst by a facile and environmentally benign method is highly anticipated. Herein, we first fabricate a sandwich-like graphene/carbon hybrid using graphene oxide (GO) and nontoxic starch. Then the graphene/carbon hybrid undergoes postprocessing with iron(III) chloride (FeCl3) and potassium sulfocyanide (KSCN) to acquire N-doped graphene/carbon nanosheets decorated by Fe and S. The resultant displays the features of interpenetrated three-dimensional hierarchical architecture composed of abundant sandwich-like graphene/carbon nanosheets and low graphene content in as-prepared sample. Remarkably, the obtained catalyst possesses favorable kinetic activity due to the unique structure and synergistic effect of N, S, and Fe on ORR, showing high onset potential, low Tafel slope, and nearly four-electron pathway. Meanwhile, the catalyst exhibits strong methanol tolerance and excellent long-term durability. In view of the multiple active sites, unique hierarchical structure, low graphene content, and outstanding electrochemical activity of the as-prepared sample, this work could broaden the thinking to develop more highly efficient graphene/carbon electrocatalysts for ORR in fuel cells.

In this paper, Ag-Functionalized graphene electrocatalyst was prepared by simultaneous reduction of Ag[(NH 3 ) 2 ] + and graphene oxide (GO) under the protection of Poly Diallyldimethylammonium Chloride. The as-prepared catalyst was utilized to enhance the catalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in energy-saving electrolysis of Na 2 CO 3 . The morphology characterization indicates that Ag nanoparticles uniformly disperse on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (RGO), and their average size is only about 5.7 nm. The electrochemical tests show that the as-prepared catalyst exhibits high electrocatlytic activity for ORR in alkaline media. Furthermore, when the catalyst is used for the oxygen reduction cathode (ORC) in the galvanostatic electrolysis of Na 2 CO 3 , the cell voltage can be reduced by 1.05 V, as compared with the conventional hydrogen evolution cathode (HEC) electrolysis. Correspondingly, up to 41.5% electrical energy consumption is saved at the same current density of 100 mA cm −2 .

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Precursor solution of CH3NH3PbI3-xClx for perovskite solar cells was conventionally prepared by mixing PbCl2 and CH3NH3I with a mole ratio of 1:3 (PbCl2:CH3NH3I). While in the present study, CH3NH3PbI3-xClx-based solar cells were fabricated using the precursor solutions containing PbCl2 and CH3NH3I with the mole ratios of 1:3, 1.05:3, 1.1:3, and 1.15:3, respectively. The results display that the solar cells with the mole ratio of 1.1:3 present higher power conversion efficiency and less I-V hysteresis than those with the mole ratio of 1:3. Based on some investigations, it is concluded that the higher efficiency could be due to the smooth and pinhole free film formation, high optical absorption, suitable energy band gap, and the large electron transfer efficiency, and the less I-V hysteresis may be attributed to the small low frequency capacitance of the device.

The present study reports Bi5FeTi3O15 (BFTO) nanofibers/graphene (Gr) nanocomposites (BGr) as counter electrodes (CEs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). BFTO nanofibers with diameters of 40–100 nm were fabricated by sol-gel based electrospinning technique. The microstructure and surface morphology of the BFTO nanofibers and the BGr nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The electrochemical performances of BGr CEs were comprehensively characterized and investigated. Compared to pristine BFTO, the nanocomposites have a marked improvement in electrocatalytic performance for the reduction of triiodide because of larger surface area and lower transfer resistance on the electrolyte-electrode interface. The maximum power conversion efficiency has reached 9.56%, which is much larger than that of pure BFTO CEs (0.22%).