Soft-templated, mesoporous Co₃O₄ thin films for electrocatalysis of the oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Mesoporous Co3O4 thin films, prepared by dip-coating and using Pluronic® F-127 as template, demonstrated improved OER activity compared to dense Co3O4 by providing high surface areas with increased concentration of catalytically active surface sites.

On the structural evolution of nanoporous optically transparent CuO photocathodes upon calcination for photoelectrochemical applications

“…In the arsenal of morphology control at the nanoscale, the concept of meso-/nanostructuring of thin films by soft-templating via the evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) process is an easy-to-handle, low-cost, and scalable approach. 52 Based on the appropriate selection of the structure-directing agent, 53 which typically includes the utilization of amphiphilic block-copolymers, the pore geometry, pore order, pore diameter, and connectivity of the mesoporous network can be controlled precisely, thus allowing tailored design of the nanoarchitecture. The fine tuning of the nanoporous framework is of importance with respect to the mass transport, 54 significantly influencing the PEC properties, especially in metal oxides.…”

Fabrication of nanocrystalline high-entropy oxide CoNiFeCrMnOx thin film electrodes by dip-coating for oxygen evolution electrocatalysis

“…S8A, ESI†), respectively, the last value being determined as second-best OER activity ever reported for cantor alloy-based (CoNiFeCrMn) high entropy oxides. 12,13 For comparison, mesoporous Co 3 O 4 thin films, also prepared by soft-templating and EISA process under comparable synthesis conditions, 41 were adduced as reference. It is noteworthy that only structurally related materials can be utilized as reference catalyst since the nanostructure is known to have major impact on the OER activity.…”