Oxygenated Carbon Electrocatalysts for Chlorine Evolution Reaction

The chlor-alkali process plays an irreplaceable role in global chemical industry, but relies heavily on RuO₂ (or IrO₂)/TiO₂-based dimensionally stable anodes, hindering sustainability and new applications. We report a facile oxygenation activation approach to create apt oxygen groups on commercial carbon black and carbon cloth. Our experimental and theoretical studies reveal that creation of carbonyl, cyclic ether, and carboxyl groups on the graphitic plane edges gives commercial carbon materials superb chlorine evolution reaction activity (overpotential: 204 mV at 1 A cm^-2), selectivity (average Faraday efficiency: 99.6 ± 1.3%), and stability (stable operation for 100 h at 0.5 A cm^-2), which is comparable to or better than the benchmark RuO₂ and dimensionally stable anodes.