A MOF-derived Co3O4/nitrogen-doped carbon composite for chlorine-assisted production of ethylene oxide

Abstract

Ethylene oxide (EO) is one of the most crucial materials in plastic industries. The traditional catalytic process requires high temperature and pressure to produce EO. A chlorine-assisted system has been reported to produce EO, but it required noble metal catalysts, which significantly increased the cost. In this work, a MOF-derived Co₃O₄/nitrogen-doped carbon composite (Co₃O₄/NC) prepared through a two-step calcination method exhibited remarkable chlorine evolution reaction (ClER) activity as compared with a commercial RuO₂ catalyst, which can be attributed to the higher specific surface area and lower resistance of its porous structure and nitrogen-doped carbon. Furthermore, the Co₃O₄/NC maintained a stable potential and a high faradaic efficiency throughout the 10-hour electrolysis test.