Exploring low-cost and earth-abundant oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalyst is essential for fuel cells and metal–air batteries. Among them, non-metal nanocarbon with multiple advantages of low cost, abundance, high conductivity, good durability, and competitive activity has attracted intense interest in recent years. The enhanced ORR activities of the nanocarbons are normally thought to originate from heteroatom (e.g., N, B, P, or S) doping or various induced defects. However, in practice, carbon-based materials usually contain both dopants and defects. In this regard, in terms of the co-engineering of heteroatom doping and defect inducing, we present an overview of recent advances in developing non-metal carbon-based electrocatalysts for the ORR. The characteristics, ORR performance, and the related mechanism of these functionalized nanocarbons by heteroatom doping, defect inducing, and in particular their synergistic promotion effect are emphatically analyzed and discussed. Finally, the current issues and perspectives in developing carbon-based electrocatalysts from both of heteroatom doping and defect engineering are proposed. This review will be beneficial for the rational design and manufacturing of highly efficient carbon-based materials for electrocatalysis.

探索低成本且储量丰富的氧还原反应 (ORR) 电催化剂对于燃料电池和金属空气电池至关重要。其中，非金属纳米碳具有成本低、资源丰富、导电率高、耐久性好、竞争活性等多重优势，近年来引起了人们的浓厚兴趣。纳米碳增强的 ORR 活性通常被认为源于杂原子（例如，N、B、P 或 S）掺杂或各种诱导的缺陷。然而，在实践中，碳基材料通常同时包含掺杂剂和缺陷。在这方面，就杂原子掺杂和缺陷诱导的协同工程而言，我们概述了开发用于 ORR 的非金属碳基电催化剂的最新进展。特点，ORR性能，并重点分析和讨论了这些功能化纳米碳通过杂原子掺杂、缺陷诱导，特别是它们的协同促进作用的相关机制。最后，提出了从杂原子掺杂和缺陷工程两个方面开发碳基电催化剂的当前问题和前景。本综述将有助于合理设计和制造用于电催化的高效碳基材料。