Facile preparation of amorphous NiFe hydroxide by corrosion engineering for electrocatalytic water and urea oxidation

Abstract

Rational design of high-performance and low-cost bifunctional electrocatalysts for hydrogen generation and wastewater treatment is of great significance. Herein, we report that self-supported amorphous NiFe hydroxides on nickel foam (NiFe/NF) are synthesized through a one-step corrosion method that is simple, rapid and scalable. Benefitting from the amorphous feature, 3D porous structure, and high electronic conductivity, the resultant NiFe/NF as a bifunctional electrocatalyst shows superior catalytic performance in alkaline electrolyte along with outstanding long-term stability, which ranks among the best oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR) catalysts reported so far. Impressively, to deliver a current density of 50 mA cm−2 for the OER and UOR, only smaller potentials of 1.54 and 1.40 V are required, respectively. More importantly, this work provides an effective and feasible approach toward the preparation of advanced electrocatalysts for energy-saving clean H2 production and urea-rich sewage purification.