Shape-controlled synthesis of lead dioxide nanoparticles for enhanced electrocatalysis of electrochemical ozone production

Abstract

Shape-controlled nanomaterials of PbO2 have attracted considerable attention in designing highly efficient electrocatalyst, since the physicochemical properties of PbO2 vary from their structure and morphology. PbO2 materials demonstrating promising ability in electrochemical ozone production (EOP) have attracted the focus of research recently, and therefore boost the strategical improvement in their key performance, such as electroactivity, current efficiency and space-time yield. In this work, the PbO2 crystals with controllable structures of rod-like, sphere-like as well as star-like PbO2 were acquired to explore their physicochemical properties and EOP performance systemically. Among the samples, PbO2 nanorods, benefitting from their abundant active surface chemisorbed oxygen, exhibit relatively high electrocatalytic activity towards EOP. Such structural feature is beneficial for triggering the generation of a rapid charge, improving mass transfer, and subsequently enhancing the corresponding electrocatalytic reactions. A maximum EOP current efficiency of 14% was achieved by the PbO2 nanorod electrode at a cell potential of 4.0 V corresponding to a specific electric energy consumption of 101.53 kWh·(kg·O3)−1. Overall, an in-depth understanding of the nanostructure–performance relationship of PbO2 and EOP performance is demonstrated in this work, which can provide an insight into the rational design of PbO2 for the EOP.