Trash to Treasure: Waste Eggshells as Chemical Reactors for the Synthesis of Amorphous Co(OH)2 Nanorod Arrays on Various Substrates for Applications in Rechargeable Alkaline Batteries and Electrocatalysis.

Bioinspired synthesis has been attracting much attention. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach to directly use waste eggshells as a reactor system for controlled synthesis of nanostructures formed on different substrates. This approach can recycle and transform the "trash" of waste eggshells into "treasure" of unique reactor systems for nanofabrication. The eggshell reactor system can provide unique conditions for the formation of nanostructures on various substrates. Using Co(OH)2 as a model, amorphous Co(OH)2 nanorod arrays, which cannot be synthesized conventionally by direct mixing of precursors, have been successfully formed on various substrates, including Ni foam, metal foil, and glass. To illustrate their potential applications, we use the as-fabricated amorphous Co(OH)2 nanorod arrays on Ni foam as (1) binder-free electrodes for rechargeable alkaline batteries, demonstrating impressively good electrochemical performances, and (2) electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction, demonstrating improved electrocatalytic performances as compared to their crystalline counterpart. We believe the idea outlined here, using eggshell reactor system, can be further expanded to synthesize many different functional materials and precursors which can find additional applications, including self-cleaning, catalysis, sensor, electrochromic devices, etc.