Microporous N,P-Codoped Graphitic Nanosheets as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction in Whole pH Range for Energy Conversion and Biosensing Dissolved Oxygen.

Microporous N,P-codoped graphitic nanosheets (N,P-CMP-1000) were synthesized by thermal annealing (1000 °C) of as-synthesized conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) in the presence of phytic acid, which can be used as an effective metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for energy conversion. In the whole pH range (i.e. alkaline, acidic, and neutral solutions), the obtained N,P-CMP-1000 exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity for ORR with a low overpotential, high current density, and good stability. Furthermore, N,P-CMP-1000 can also be applied for electrochemically sensing dissolved oxygen (DO), with a high sensitivity (1.89 μA mg-1  L) and broad detection range (2.56 to 16.65 mg L-1 ) due to its good electrocatalytic performance towards ORR in neutral solution. In vitro cytotoxicity tests (CCK-8 and Live/Dead Cell Double Staining Assay) of N,P-CMP-1000 extracts demonstrated its good biocompatibility to Human Corneal Epithelial Cells (HCEC), which shows its great potential as an eye-wearable biosensor for sensing DO in tears.