Surface-oxidized carbon black as a catalyst for the water oxidation and alcohol oxidation reactions.

Carbon black (CB) is popularly used as a catalyst support for metal/metal oxide nanoparticles due to its large surface area, excellent conductivity and stability. Herein, we show that surface oxidized CB itself, after acidic treatment and electrochemical oxidation, exhibits significant catalytic activity for the electrochemical oxidation of water and alcohols.