Mott–Schottky Heterojunction on Self-Supporting TiO 2 Nanotubes Enables Efficient and Stable Chlorine Evolution Reaction

Chlorine evolution reaction (CER), pivotal for modern chemical manufacturing, remains hindered by catalyst deactivation and competitive oxygen evolution reaction. To address these, a Mott–Schottky heterojunction electrocatalyst was demonstrated via in situ growth of Ru-RuO2 nanoparticles on TiO2 nanotubes (NTs). The difference of work functions renders electron spontaneous migration at the heterojunction interface, generating a built-in electric field and upshifting the d-band center of the catalyst, which optimizes the adsorption to key intermediates and strengthens catalyst–support interaction. The resultant self-supporting Ru-RuO2/TiO2 NTs electrode exhibits excellent CER performance with low overpotential of 43 mV at 50 mA cm–2. Crucially, the electrode demonstrates 95.8% Cl2 selectivity and stable operation over 600 h at 100 mA cm–2, significantly surpassing Ru-RuO2/Ti plate (selectivity: 87.7%, stability: ∼70 h) and dimensionally stable anode (selectivity: 84.8%, stability: ∼100 h). This work demonstrates a feasible pathway to design efficient CER self-supporting catalysts for the chlor-alkali industry and environmental protection.