Electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) via the two-electron (2e⁻) pathway of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) supplies an auspicious alternative to the current industrial anthraquinone process. Nonetheless, it still lacks efficient electrocatalysts to achieve high ORR activity together with 2e⁻ selectivity simultaneously. Herein, a boron-doped defective nanocarbon (B-DC) electrocatalyst is synthesized by using fullerene frameworks as the precursor and boric oxide as the boron source. The obtained B-DC materials have a hierarchical porous structure, befitting boron dopants, and abundant topological pentagon defects, exhibiting a high ORR onset potential of 0.78 V and a dominated 2e⁻ selectivity (over 95%). Remarkably, when B-DC electrocatalyst is employed in a real device, it achieves a high H₂O₂ yield rate (247 mg·L⁻¹·h⁻¹), quantitative Faraday efficiency (~ 100%), and ultrafast organic pollutant degradation rate. The theoretical calculation reveals that the synergistic effect of topological pentagon defects and the incorporation of boron dopants promote the activation of the O₂ molecule and facilitates the desorption of oxygen intermediate. This finding will be very helpful for the comprehension of the synergistic effect of topological defects and heteroatom dopants for boosting the electrocatalytic performance of nanocarbon toward H₂O₂ production.

Sodium metal is a promising anode for sodium batteries due to its high theoretical capacity and low cost. However, the serious Na dendrite growth and low Coulombic efficiency, especially at high current densities/cycling capacities, severely limit the application of sodium metal anodes. Herein, trifluoromethylfullerene, C₆₀(CF₃)₆, is designed as an electrolyte additive to enable the high-rate cycling of sodium metal anodes with high Coulombic efficiency. The CF₃ groups contribute to the formation of stable NaF-rich solid electrolyte interface layer, while C₆₀ cages induce the uniform distribution of sodium ions and promote the formation of smooth and compact morphology. Thus, Na||Cu cell with C₆₀(CF₃)₆ can be cycled at 2 mA·cm⁻² and 10 mAh·cm⁻² over 180 cycles with an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.9%, and Na||Na cell can be cycled at 10 mA·cm⁻² over 600 cycles. Furthermore, Na||NaV₂(PO₄)₃@C full cell exhibits high capacity retention of 84% over 2,000 cycles at 20 C (~ 3 mA·cm⁻²).