Polyelectrolyte‐Brush‐Derived Nitrogen‐Doped Porous Carbon

Abstract Nitrogen‐doped porous carbons have been well‐recognized as promising materials for a wide range of applications. Therefore, the rational design and synthesis of nitrogen‐doped porous carbons are essential both for practical applications as well as for understanding of their fundamental properties. In this Communication, we report a silica‐template‐assisted fabrication of nitrogen‐doped porous carbons through pyrolysis of polyelectrolyte brushes. The resulting material has a surface area of 799 m² g⁻¹ and exhibits improved electrochemical catalytic ability towards the oxygen reduction reaction in basic medium and an increased carbon dioxide adsorption capability compared with samples derived from a physical mixture of polyelectrolyte and silica, although the latter sample has higher overall nitrogen content. The findings in this work provide a new strategy to fabricate nitrogen‐doped porous carbon not only for practical applications, but also as a model system for fundamental understanding of the correlation between heteroatom distribution and properties.