Mesoporous nanobelts and nano-necklaces of Co3O4 converted from β-Co(OH)2 nanobelts via a thermal decomposition route for the electrocatalytic oxidation of H2O2

Abstract

We developed a direct and scalable approach, based upon a thermal decomposition route under normal atmospheric pressure for growing well-defined mesoporous Co₃O₄ nanobelts and nano-necklaces from β-Co(OH)₂ nanobelts, the uniform precursor. This method involves the synthesis of the precursor via a solution process and subsequently thermal decomposition of the precursor at atmospheric pressure. The operation is quite simple and environmentally friendly, with no release of gas pollutants and no need for a protective inert gas during the synthesis. As well as this, the final morphologies of the products can be easily tuned by modifying the heating temperature and the heating rate. Due to its high specific area and porous structure, the spine of the Co₃O₄ mesoporous nanobelts exhibits enhanced electrocatalytic oxidation performance, in comparison with Co₃O₄ nano-necklaces, toward hydrogen peroxide under the alkaline electrolyte.