Promoting electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol to formate through interfacial interaction in NiMo oxide-CoMo oxide mixture-derived catalysts

Designing efficient, stable, and easily scaled-up catalysts for nucleophile oxidation reactions (NOR) is a key step in promoting the industrial application of NOR. Here, a simple physical mixing strategy is adopted to prepare a mixture of NiMo oxide and CoMo oxide as catalyst for methanol electrocatalytic oxidation reaction (MOR). The mixture exhibits high catalytic activity for MOR and its performance far exceeds that of a single component. The interaction at the contact interface between nickel and cobalt components is clarified through operando electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, in-situ Raman spectroscopy, and a series of electrochemical tests. The interfacial interaction enhances the charge transport and promotes the formation of electrophilic OH* species, which significantly boosts the methanol oxidation reaction. This work provides a new idea for the design of efficient and easily scaled-up catalysts for nucleophile oxidation reactions.