Facile synthesis of hierarchically porous Co3O4 nanowire arrays with enhanced electrochemical catalysis

Abstract

We report a facile template-free procedure to synthesize freestanding Co3O4 nanowire arrays on nickel substrate. Cobalt oxalate nanowire arrays are formed by immersing the electrodeposited Co film in an oxalic acid solution, and their morphologies can be conveniently tuned by changing the composition of precursor solution. The thermal treatment of the cobalt oxalate nanowire arrays at 250°C results in the formation of Co3O4 nanowire arrays. The as-synthesized Co3O4 nanowires exhibit a hierarchically porous structure inside their architectures. The Co3O4 nanowire array shows a much high sensitivity and a relatively wide linear range for the electrochemical detection of H2O2, resulting from the unique hierarchical nanostructure.