Co2+-Doped Porous Ni(OH)2 Nanosheets Electrode for Selective Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol at High Current Densities

Graphical Methanol to formate : Selective electrooxidation of methanol for the production of formate with high Faradic efficiency was easily implemented in a two-electrode configuration at high current densities, in which Co 2+ -doped Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets were facilely grown on Ni foam and were used as efficient porous electrodes. Co 2+ -doped Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets were grown on porous Ni foam by a simple electrodeposition method. The obtained samples were used as porous electrodes for selective electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol to formate in NaOH aqueous solution. The results indicated the oxidizing abilities of the as-prepared electrodes could be regulated by the doping content of Co 2+ for the electrooxidation of methanol, in which the electrode with a Co 2+ doping content of 10 mol % required a lowest potential of ∼1.32 V vs . RHE to achieve a current density of 100 mA cm −2 as compared with other electrodes. And the doping of Co 2+ helped boosting the Faradic efficiency for the electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol. Moreover, the electrooxidation of methanol for the production of formate (Faradic efficiency ≥96.5 %) with the simultaneous generation of hydrogen was easily implemented in a two-electrode configuration at high current densities (100–500 mA cm −2 ). The results of the durability test further revealed that the 10 mol % Co 2+ -doped Ni(OH) 2 electrode exhibited an outstanding stability for the electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol in the present system.