Metallic Nickel Hydroxide Nanosheets Give Superior Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Urea for Fuel Cells

Xiaojiao Zhu, Xinyu Dou, Jun Dai, Xingda An, Yuqiao Guo, Lidong Zhang, Shi Tao, Jiyin Zhao, Wangsheng Chu, Xiao Cheng Zeng, Changzheng Wu, Yi Xie

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

299 Scopus citations

Abstract

The direct urea fuel cell (DUFC) is an important but challenging renewable energy production technology, it offers great promise for energy-sustainable developments and mitigating water contamination. However, DUFCs still suffer from the sluggish kinetics of the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) owing to a 6 etransfer process, which poses a severe hindrance to their practical use. Herein, taking β-Ni(OH)2nanosheets as the proof-of-concept study, we demonstrated a surface-chemistry strategy to achieve metallic Ni(OH)2nanosheets by engineering their electronic structure, representing a first metallic configuration of transition-metal hydroxides. Surface sulfur incorporation successfully brings synergetic effects of more exposed active sites, good wetting behavior, and effective electron transport, giving rise to greatly enhanced performance for UOR. Metallic nanosheets exhibited a much higher current density, smaller onset potential and stronger durability.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)12465-12469
Number of pages5
JournalAngewandte Chemie - International Edition
Volume55
Issue number40
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 26 2016

Keywords

  • fuel cells
  • metallic transition-metal hydroxide
  • nanosheets
  • sulfur
  • urea oxidation reaction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • Chemistry(all)

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