This work presents the synthesis by a silica template-based method of metal-free electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) for alkaline fuel cells. Nitrogen-doped Ordered Mesoporous Hollow Carbon Spheres (N-OMHCS) was obtained starting from a SiO_2 template. The N-OMHCS material has been functionalized with methanol using the intermittent microwave heating technique to produce the N-OMHCS-f electrocatalyst. Then, the catalytic activity of N-OMHCS and N-OMHCS-f electrocatalysts were evaluated for the ORR in 0.5 mol L~(-1) KOH, with the rotating ring-disk electrode technique (RRDE). The electrochemical results indicate that N-OMHCS-f has higher catalytic activity for the ORR than N-OMHCS, whit an onset potential of 0.81 and 0.82 V vs. RHE and a limiting current of -3.6 and -2.3 mA cm~(-2), respectively. On the other hand, both electrocatalysts produce about the same amount of H_2O_2 (between 14 and 26%). The catalytic activity of N-OMHCS and N-OMHCS-f can be attributed to the nitrogen species on their surface and their porous structure, which provides a triple phase region promoting the adsorption-desorption of O_2.
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