The ultrathin regular circular structural Ni-P nanosheet for efficient urea electrooxidation

Abstract

The direct urea fuel cell (DUFC) functions as a dual-purpose technology, serving as both a renewable energy production system and a means to degrade urea in wastewater. Herein, Ni-P nanosheets are synthesized using a chemical nickel-plating technique and applied to the urea oxidation reaction (UOR). The reaction time, plating solution pH, and reaction temperature play crucial roles in facilitating UOR kinetics. The optimized Ni-P nanosheets display good catalytic performance and the voltage difference between the 9000th and the first cycle is only 28 mV at 10 mA cm−2. Additionally, it maintains outstanding long-term stability at 1.52 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) for 70 hours and Ni-P nanosheets deactivates by less than 1% compared to the initial current density, further confirming the high stability of Ni-P nanosheets for the UOR. This research not only offers a rapid and effective approach for developing advanced UOR catalysts but also introduces a conceptual framework for designing catalysts for various catalytic reactions.