Gold nanoparticles embedded within mesoporous cobalt oxide enhance electrochemical oxygen evolution

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles incorporated in mesoporous cobalt oxides (Au/mCo3 O4 ) are fabricated by a nanocasting method using porous silica as the hard template. The Au/mCo3 O4 material exhibits enhanced catalytic activity towards water oxidation compared to bulk mCo3 O4 in both alkaline and neutral solutions. The superior catalytic performance is ascribed to the synergistic effect of electronegative metal gold, which facilitates the generation of active Co(IV) sites, as well as the large specific surface area and the preferential exposure of catalytic active crystalline lattice.

Keywords: cobalt oxides; electrocatalysis; gold nanoparticles; mesoporous materials; water splitting.