Nanostructures Formed by Brass Electrochemical Oxidation-Fabrication Strategies and Emerging Applications

Brasses are well-known structural materials, and their electrochemistry seems to be known. However, the formation of nanostructured anodic oxides on brasses is still not common and researched enough. Despite the electrochemical oxidation or anodization of copper and zinc being well-recognized and known in the scientific community, there is a lack of a satisfactory amount of research on brass anodizing. Both copper and zinc can passivate in neutral and alkaline electrolytes, and also the mechanism of the nanostructured oxide growth of both seems to be similar. In this review, much effort was put in to gather the information on the protocols on the electrochemical oxidations of brasses and their applications. Usually, the effects of electrochemical oxidation allow us to obtain nanostructured surfaces made of mixed Cu and Zn species. The formation of such composite nanostructures allows us to apply them in such emerging applications as photocatalytic organic pollutant decomposition, photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation, electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reactions, or electrochemical methanol oxidation.