Noble-metal-free cobalt hydroxide nanosheets for efficient electrocatalytic oxidation

Cobalt hydroxide has been emerging as a promising catalyst for the electrocatalytic oxidation reactions, including the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and glucose oxidation reaction (GOR). Herein, we prepared cobalt hydroxide nanoparticles (CoHP) and cobalt hydroxide nanosheets (CoHS) on nickel foam. In the electrocatalytic OER, CoHS shows an overpotential of 306 mV at a current density of 10 mA·cm−2. This is enhanced as compared with that of CoHP (367 mV at 10 mA·cm−2). In addition, CoHS also exhibits an improved performance in the electrocatalytic GOR. The improved electrocatalytic performance of CoHS could be due to the higher ability of the two-dimensional nanosheets on CoHS in electron transfer. These results are useful for fabricating efficient catalysts for electrocatalytic oxidation reactions.