Synthesis of a Hierarchically Porous C/Co3O4 Nanostructure with Boron Doping for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Fabricating a low-cost and highly efficient electrocatalyst is of importance for the development of renewable energy devices. In this work, we have synthesized an ultrafine cobalt oxide nanocatalyst (5-10 nm) doped with boron (BC/Co3O4) by using a metal-organic framework as a precursor, which exhibits an excellent catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Owing to the improvement of accessible active sites by boron doping, the synthesized catalyst can reach a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) at 1.54 V with a low overpotential of 310 mV, superior than those of commercial RuO2 and N-doped C/Co3O4. This work provides a facile way to develop highly efficient catalysts for electrochemical reactions.