Self-Organized One-Dimensional Cobalt Compound Nanostructures from CoC2O4 for Superior Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

In this work, we reported that a self-organized cobalt oxalate (CoC2O4) with one-dimensional structures was applied to investigate the electrocatalytic behavior of an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. The one-dimensional CoC2O4 structure was fabricated by a facile anodization process, i.e., reacting the Co metal surface with oxalate ions. The dense CoC2O4 nanowires were evenly distributed on the Co substrate. By thermal treatment, Co3O4 one-dimensional structures were easily formed from CoC2O4 structures. In addition, we confirmed that fabricated CoC2O4 could also be transformed to Co(OH)(2) with one-dimensional structures via a spontaneous chemical reaction in alkaline, which serves better electrocatalytic performance for an OER.