Enhancing the Selectivity of H2O2 Electrogeneration by Steric Hindrance Effect.

Selective hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) electrogeneration by oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is an efficient and promising synthetic method for H2O2 production. Herein, we build a particular inorganic-organic interface to enhance the electrocatalytic selectivity of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogels for H2O2 electrogeneration by modifying rGO aerogels with polyethyleneimine (PEI). The three-dimensional porous structure of aerogels and the steric hindrance effect of PEI on rGO endow PEI-functionalized rGO (rGO/PEI) aerogels with enhanced selectivity (90.7%), production rate (106.4 mmol gcat-1 h-1), and durability for H2O2 electrogeneration by the two-electron pathway of ORR.