Building dual-phased Ni2P–Ni2P4O12 electrocatalysts for efficient urea oxidation reaction

Abstract

The development of highly efficient electrocatalysts for urea oxidation reaction (UOR) is crucial for reproducible and clean energy technologies. Herein, dual-phased nickel-based cost-effective catalyst nickel phosphide (Ni₂P)-nickel metaphosphate (Ni₂P₄O₁₂) microspheric nanoparticles were fabricated through a two-step hydrothermal-phosphorization process by preciously controlling the feeding ratios of the Ni precursor and the P source. It merely needs a potential of 1.35 V vs. RHE to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² with a small Tafel slop of 55 mV dec⁻¹ and maintains high catalytic activity for 10 h in 1.0 M KOH with 0.33 M urea solution. The synergy effect and modulation of the electronic structure between Ni₂P and Ni₂P₄O₁₂ could be the reason for the good UOR performance. This work provides a new perspective for the further design of high-performance electrocatalysts in diverse energy fields.