Electronic Structure Modulation Via Iron-Incorporated NiO to Boost Urea Oxidation/Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Guangyuan He, Xiong-Fei He, Hui-Ying Mu, Ran Su, Yue Zhou, Chao Meng, Fa‐tang Li, Xuemin Chen
Abstract
The urea-assisted water splitting not only enables a reduction in energy consumption during hydrogen production but also addresses the issue of environmental pollution caused by urea. Doping heterogeneous atoms in Ni-based electrocatalysts is considered an efficient means for regulating the electronic structure of Ni sites in catalytic processes. However, the current methodologies for synthesizing heteroatom-doped Ni-based electrocatalysts exhibit certain limitations, including intricate experimental procedures, prolonged reaction durations, and low product yield. Herein, Fe-doped NiO electrocatalysts were successfully synthesized using a rapid and facile solution combustion method, enabling the synthesis of 1.1107 g within a mere 5 min. The incorporation of iron atoms facilitates the modulation of the electronic environment around Ni atoms, generating a substantial decrease in the Gibbs free energy of intermediate species for the Fe–NiO catalyst. This modification promotes efficient cleavage of C–N bonds and consequently enhances the catalytic performance of UOR. Benefiting from the tunability of the electronic environment around the active sites and its efficient electron transfer, Fe–NiO electrocatalysts only needs 1.334 V to achieve 50 mA cm –2 during UOR. Moreover, Fe–NiO catalysts were integrated into a dual electrode urea electrolytic system, requiring only 1.43 V of cell voltage at 10 mA cm –2 .