Controlled Synthesis of Co3O4 Electrocatalysts with Different Morphologies and Their Application for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The effect of the Co3O4 catalysts with different morphologies on the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance is not clearly. Herein, we have synthesized urchin-like Co3O4, Co3O4 nanosheets, Co3O4 nanoparticles and Co3O4 nanospheres. These Co3O4 materials with different morphologies are applied as the electrocatalysts for OER, and their OER performances are also compared with related literature results. The obtained overpotentials for OER are 308, 342, 350 and 448 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm(-2) in 1 M KOH on urchin-like Co3O4, Co3O4 nanosheets, Co3O4 nanoparticles and Co3O4 nanospheres, respectively. The catalytic mechanism of the urchin-like Co3O4 for OER is explored by electrochemical oxidation of H2O2. This study is helpful to understand the relationship between the morphology and the OER performance of the Co3O4 electrocatalysts.