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Research Article

Porous rod-like Ni2P/Ni assemblies for enhanced urea electrooxidation

Qing Li1,2, Xinran Li1, Jiawei Gu1, Yanle Li3, Ziqi Tian3( ), Huan Pang1( )
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
Guangling College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
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Graphical Abstract

Abstract

The urea oxidation reaction has attracted increasing attention. Here, porous rod-like Ni2P/Ni assemblies, which consist of numerous nanoparticle subunits with matching interfaces at the nanoscale have been synthesized via a simple phosphating approach. Density functional theory calculations and density of states indicate that porous rod-like Ni2P/Ni assemblies can significantly enhance the activity of chemical bonds and the conductivity compared with NiO/Ni toward the urea oxidation reaction. The optimal catalyst of Ni2P/Ni can deliver a low overpotential of 50 mV at 10 mA·cm-2 and Tafel slope of 87.6 mV·dec-1 in urea oxidation reaction. Moreover, the constructed electrolytic cell exhibits a current density of 10 mA·cm-2 at a cell voltage of 1.47 V and an outstanding durability in the two-electrode system. This work has provided a new possibility to fabricate metal phosphides-metal assemblies with advanced performance.

Keywords

electrocatalystrod-like Ni2P/Niurea electrooxidationoverall urea electrolysis

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Nano Research
Volume 14 Issue 5,
May 2021
Pages 1405-1412
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-020-3190-1
Cite this article:
Li Q, Li X, Gu J, et al. Porous rod-like Ni2P/Ni assemblies for enhanced urea electrooxidation. Nano Research, 2021, 14(5): 1405-1412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-3190-1
Topics:
Density functional theoryMetabolismNickel oxideOxidationPhosphorus compoundsSynthesis (chemical)

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Received: 17 September 2020
Revised: 09 October 2020
Accepted: 15 October 2020
Published: 15 November 2020
© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
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