Enhanced Performance of Porphyrin-Modified CuO-Co₃O₄ Heterojunction as a Photoelectrocatalyst for Methanol Oxidation

It is desirable to improve the methanol oxidation ability of heterojunction catalysts because of their potential in the field of electrocatalysis. In this article, we have integrated CuO/Co₃O₄ heterojunction with porphyrin (TCPP) for TCPP/Cu₂Co₁. The results demonstrate that the specific surface area and electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) are enhanced, and the unblocked separation and transfer of photogenerated charges are guaranteed by the matched band energy of CuO, Co₃O₄, and TCPP. As such, the photocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) performance and stability of TCPP/Cu₂Co₁ are significantly enhanced compared with those of Cu₂Co₁. This study provides a promising pathway for the design of MOR catalysts with high MOR activity.