Mesoporous Ni-P nanocatalysts for alkaline urea electrooxidation

• Published in: Electrochimica acta 2016-12, Vol.222, p.455-462
• Main Authors: Ding, Rui, Li, Xudong, Shi, Wei, Xu, Qilei, Wang, Luo, Jiang, Haixia, Yang, Zeng, Liu, Enhui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electrocatalysts; Hydrogen production; Nickel phosphide; Urea electrolysis; Urea fuel cells
• ISSN: 0013-4686; 1873-3859
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2016.10.198

•The solvothermally synthesized mesoporous Ni-P nanocatalysts were used for alkaline urea electrooxidation.•The Ni-P nanocatalysts exhibited higher activity and stability than the Ni nanocatalysts.•The structural effect of porous nanowire surface led to the superior activity.•The electronic effect between Ni and P resulted in the enhanced stability. Mesoporous nickel phosphide (Ni-P) nanocatalysts have been synthesized via a facile solvothermal strategy and used for urea electrooxidation in alkaline medium. The physicochemical properties and electrocatalytic performances have been investigated. Due to the structural effect and electronic effect, the Ni-P nanocatalysts achieve a lower overpotential, higher activity and better stability compared with the Ni nanocatalysts. Therefore, an onset oxidation potential of 1.37V (vs. RHE), a peak current density of 70mAcm−2 and a good current retention of 58% for 1000s at 1.52V have been achieved by the Ni-P nanocatalysts, which show enhanced performance compared to the Ni nanocatalysts (1.42V, 62mAcm−2, 39% retention), indicating a promising application of the mesoporous Ni-P nanocatalysts towards alkaline urea electrooxidation.