Chitosan Supports Boosting NiCo2O4 for Catalyzed Urea Electrochemical Removal Application
Fowzia S. Alamro, Mahmoud A. Hefnawy, Sherif S. Nafee, Nada S. Al‐Kadhi, Rami Adel Pashameah, Hoda A. Ahmed, Shymaa S. Medany
Abstract
Currently, wastewater containing high urea levels poses a significant risk to human health. Else, electrocatalytic methodologies have the potential to transform urea present in urea-rich wastewater into hydrogen, thereby contributing towards environmental conservation and facilitating the production of sustainable energy. The characterization of the NiCo2O4@chitosan catalyst was performed by various analytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Furthermore, the activity of electrodes toward urea removal was investigated by several electrochemical techniques. As a function of current density, the performance of the modified NiCo2O4@chitosan surface was employed to remove urea using electrochemical oxidation. Consequently, the current density measurement was 43 mA cm−2 in a solution of 1.0 M urea and 1.0 M KOH. Different kinetic characteristics were investigated, including charge transfer coefficient (α), Tafel slope (29 mV dec−1), diffusion coefficient (1.87 × 10−5 cm2 s−1), and surface coverage 4.29 × 10−9 mol cm−2. The electrode showed high stability whereas it lost 10.4% of its initial current after 5 h of urea oxidation.