TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring the role of different morphologies of β–Ni(OH)2 for electrocatalytic urea oxidation and the effects of electrochemically active surface area
AU - Toufani, Maryam
AU - Besic, Hanka
AU - Tong, Wenming
AU - Farràs, Pau
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Ni(OH)2, as a multifunctional material, has found its applications in a great number of research areas. In particular, it is an efficient catalyst for urea oxidation reaction (UOR), which is an important alternative to oxygen evolution reaction in electrocatalytic water splitting. This work investigates the effect of materials morphology on the electrocatalytic UOR performance of β–Ni(OH)2, as well as the importance of characterising the catalysts’ surface by electrochemical active surface area. Three different morphologies (nanoflowers, nanocubes, and nanosheets) were prepared via a simple hydrothermal approach. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared samples were carefully examined by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. The UOR performance of β–Ni(OH)2 was evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, Tafel analysis, and electrochemical surface area. Nanosheet Ni(OH)2 electrocatalyst exhibits higher current density responses (28.3 mA cm−2 ECSA at 1.6 V vs. RHE) and a lower slope in the Tafel plot (72.6 mV dec-1). Consequently, due to the exposure of more active sites to the reactants, the Ni(OH)2 electrode with nanosheet morphology displayed higher electrocatalytic performance during UOR compared to the nanoflower and nanocube samples.
AB - Ni(OH)2, as a multifunctional material, has found its applications in a great number of research areas. In particular, it is an efficient catalyst for urea oxidation reaction (UOR), which is an important alternative to oxygen evolution reaction in electrocatalytic water splitting. This work investigates the effect of materials morphology on the electrocatalytic UOR performance of β–Ni(OH)2, as well as the importance of characterising the catalysts’ surface by electrochemical active surface area. Three different morphologies (nanoflowers, nanocubes, and nanosheets) were prepared via a simple hydrothermal approach. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared samples were carefully examined by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. The UOR performance of β–Ni(OH)2 was evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, Tafel analysis, and electrochemical surface area. Nanosheet Ni(OH)2 electrocatalyst exhibits higher current density responses (28.3 mA cm−2 ECSA at 1.6 V vs. RHE) and a lower slope in the Tafel plot (72.6 mV dec-1). Consequently, due to the exposure of more active sites to the reactants, the Ni(OH)2 electrode with nanosheet morphology displayed higher electrocatalytic performance during UOR compared to the nanoflower and nanocube samples.
KW - Active site
KW - Electrocatalysis
KW - Morphology
KW - Ni(OH)
KW - Urea Oxidation Reaction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165124042&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.rechem.2023.101031
DO - 10.1016/j.rechem.2023.101031
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85165124042
SN - 2211-7156
VL - 6
JO - Results in Chemistry
JF - Results in Chemistry
M1 - 101031
ER -