Enhancement of photoelectrocatalytic performance of copper cobaltate nanoflowers modified with 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxylphenyl)porphyrin for methanol oxidation under light

Abstract

With the continuously increasing global energy demand, there is an urgent requirement to find efficient methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) catalysts that can replace precious metals. In this work, we have elaborately integrated 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (H₂TCPP) with copper cobaltate (CuCo₂O₄), which possesses efficient separation of photogenerated charges and increased active sites. The mass activity of H₂TCPP/CuCo₂O₄ (534.75 mA mg⁻¹) toward MOR is higher than that of pure CuCo₂O₄ (291.75 mA mg⁻¹) under light. In addition, H₂TCPP/CuCo₂O₄ can catalyze the oxidation of other alcohols, such as ethanol, ethanediol, isopropanol, and glycerol. This study demonstrates that it is feasible to enhance the MOR activity by the modification of bimetallic transition metal oxides with porphyrins.