A phosphorus and nitrogen co-doped carbon material (PNDC) was synthesized from aminated tannin and polyphosphoric acid by a rapid and highly efficient microwave synthetic technique. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study was useful in the identification of nitrogen and phosphorous environments in a sp(2) hybridized carbon lattice. The PNDC was found to be a porous material with a surface area of 433 m(2) g(-1). PNDC sample exhibited excellent thermal stability and the Raman spectroscopic studies were used for analyzing defects in the sp(2) hybridized carbon lattice. This material has promising electrochemical applications, especially for catalyzing oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells and for charge storage in supercapacitors. The oxygen reduction capability of PNDC was investigated in 0.1 M KOH solution, and rotating disk and ring disk electrode studies were performed to identify the mechanism of oxygen reduction. The capacitative behavior of the PNDC was investigated in 6 M KOH and specific capacitance was determined to be 161 Fg(-1) due to the electric double layer charge storage phenomenon. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.