Rational Surface and Interfacial Engineering of IrO₂/TiO₂ Nanosheet Arrays toward High‐Performance Chlorine Evolution Electrocatalysis and Practical Environmental Remediation

Abstract

The chlorine evolution reaction (CER) is a critical and commercially valuable electrochemical reaction in industrial‐scale utilization, including the Chlor‐alkali industry, seawater electrolysis, and saline wastewater treatment. Aiming at boosting CER electrocatalysis, hybrid IrO2/TiO2 nanosheet arrays (NSAs) with rational surface and interfacial tuning strategies are proposed in this study. The IrO2/TiO2 NSAs exhibit superb CER electrocatalytic activity with a low overpotential (44 mV) at 10 mA cm−2, low Tafel slope of 40 mV dec−1, high CER selectivity (95.8%), and long‐term durability, outperforming most of the existing counterparts. The boosting mechanism is proposed that the aerophobic/hydrophilic surface engineering and interfacial electronic structure tuning of IrO2/TiO2 are beneficial for the Cl− mass‐transfer, Cl2 release, and Volmer–Heyvrosky kinetics during the CER. Practical saline wastewater treatment by using the IrO2/TiO2 NSAs electrode is further conducted, demonstrating it has a higher p‐nitrophenol degradation ratio (95.10% in 60 min) than that of other electrodes. The rational surface and interfacial engineering of IrO2/TiO2 NSAs can open up a new way to design highly efficient electrocatalysts for industrial application and environmental remediation.

Electrosynthesis of chlorine from seawater-like solution through single-atom catalysts

“…3c and Supplementary Fig. 23 ) 28 . The superior CER selectivity of as-prepared Ru-O 4 SAM are further demonstrated at a higher pH value (Supplementary Figs.…”

High‐Yield Carbon Dots Interlayer for Ultra‐Stable Zinc Batteries

“…The interfacial wetting ability is crucial for interfacial affinity and charge distribution. [20] Impressively, compared with bare Zn foil, the contact angle between Zn@CDs and electrolyte is decreased from 104.5° to 63.8°(Figure 2h,i), which arises from the rough surface and improved zincophilicity, [21] thus guaranteeing the homogenous electric field distribution interface. According to the results above, the insoluble but hydrophilic CDs could be severed as smooth and dense intermediate to guide uniform Zn deposition and alleviate Zn corrosion.…”

Preparation of Ti/IrRuSnSbOx Electrodes by a Hydrosol Process for Efficient and Stable Chlorine Evolution Reaction

“…The Tafel slope of chlorine evolution for MMO H-0.7 was 41.08 mV dec −1 , which was the smallest one among these electrodes. The rate-control step was represented by the Volmer−Heyrovsky mechanism, 3 that is, Cl − is first adsorbed on the active site on the electrode surface to form adsorbed chlorine species (Volmer step) and then Cl − reacts with the adsorbed chlorine species to generate Cl 2 (Heyrovsky step), which is considered to be the main pathway for the state-of-the-art CER catalysts. 28 CV can reflect the pseudocapacitance of the electrode, and voltammetry charges (q*) can be obtained by integrating the CV curve (Figure S3).…”

“…Chlorine evolution anodes are widely used in chlor-alkali industry, seawater electrolysis, , and chlorine-based electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs). − In order to improve energy efficiency and support sustainable development, it is crucial to explore anode materials with excellent catalytic activity and high stability for the chlorine evolution reaction (CER). Rutile IrO 2 and RuO 2 are commonly used as anode materials.…”