Understanding electrochemical chlorine evolution process of ultrafine spinel cobalt oxide nanoparticles

The present work investigates electrochemical oxidation of chlorine using cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) nanoparticles synthesized through a co-precipitation method, resulting in a cubic lattice structure with space group Fd-3m (227). This study demonstrates that Co₃O₄ nanoparticles exhibit superior performance compared to noble electrocatalysts in chlorine evolution reactions (CERs). Key electrocatalytic parameters were optimized, with Co₃O₄ achieving an overpotential of 120 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², a Tafel slope of 112 mV d⁻¹ and a charge transfer resistance of 9.6 Ω. Additionally, wettability results revealed that cobalt oxide possesses minimal hydrophobicity, which helps in faster chlorine evolution process. We believe, this study provides valuable addition in understanding the designing of effective electrocatalysts for CER.