Accelerated O2 adsorption and stabilized *OOH for electrocatalytic H2O2 production

Electrocatalytic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production via the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e- ORR) is promising, but non-metal catalysts with high selectivity are lacking. Herein, a high content of pyrrolic N doped carbon (HPNC) with small mesopores is constructed. Over 80 % H2O2 selectivity at a wide potential of 0.2-0.6 V is achieved. The finite element simulation reveals that small pore-size mesopores are beneficial to O2 adsorption. And in-situ characterization proves that HPNC suppresses the breakage of O-O bond and enhances the stabilization of *OOH intermediates, thus improving the 2e- ORR performance. This work highlights the combination of non-metal active sites and geometry for 2e- ORR electrocatalysis. (c) 2025 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.