Defect graphene as a trifunctional catalyst for electrochemical reactions

The defects derived by the removal of heteroatoms from graphene have been demonstrated, both experimentally and theoretically, to be effective for all three basic electrochemical reactions, e.g., oxygen reduction (ORR), oxygen evolution (OER), hydrogen evolution (HER). Density function theory calculations further reveal that the different types of defects are essential for the individual electrocatalytic activity for ORR, OER, and HER, respectively.