Micelle-templating interfacial self-assembly of two-dimensional mesoporous nanosheets for sustainable H2O2 electrosynthesis

In this report, we demonstrated a feasible micelle-templating interfacial self-assembling (MTISA) strategy for the controllable synthesis of mesoporous nanosheets with various chemical composition, including polymer, carbon, nitrogen-doped carbon and silica. Micelle-templates derived from the mixture surfactants of F127 and FC4 regulated the polymerization reaction at the water-oil interface, resulting in the formation of mesoporous resorcinol-formaldehyde resin nanosheets (MRFNS). After carbonization, mesoporous carbon nanosheets (MCNS) with thickness of ∼21.5 nm, hierarchical porous structure, and high specific surface area of 740 m 2 g −1 can be obtained. Furthermore, our approach can be extended to prepare other 2D mesoporous materials with component of aminophenol-formaldehyde resin and inorganic SiO 2 by simply replacing the precursor from resorcinol to aminophenol, or tetraethyl orthosilicate. Besides, the formation mechanism of mesoporous nanosheets through MTISA approach was systematically investigated by variation of the synthesis parameters. Owing to the accessible mesoporous structures with 2D morphology, the MCNS demonstrated efficient and stable H 2 O 2 production both in alkaline and neutral electrolytes. The present synthesis strategy might pave the way to tune the architecture of mesoporous materials through a facile and universal approach. • A micelle-templating interfacial self-assembling (MTISA) strategy was applied to fabricate mesoporous nanosheets. • The MTISA strategy can be applied to synthesize mesoporous nanosheets with different chemical compositions. • Different synthesis parameters were adjusted to explore the mechanism of the MTISA process. • Mesoporous carbon nanosheets (MCNS) can produce hydrogen peroxide efficiently in electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction.