Co3O4 nanobelt arrays assembled with ultrathin nanosheets as highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts for the chlorine evolution reaction

Abstract

The chlorine evolution reaction (CER) is an important electrochemical process in chemical industry, but commonly used CER electrocatalysts are based on scarce elements e.g. Ru and Ir. Thus, it is necessary to develop efficient electrocatalysts based on more abundant elements. Here, we report that Co₃O₄ nanobelt arrays (NBAs) assembled with ultrathin nanosheets which are less than 2.3 nm thick prepared on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates are an example of such CER electrocatalysts. The Co₃O₄ NBA anode is better than RuO₂-based anodes in terms of CER activity and is far more stable than RuO₂-based anodes.