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Metallic Nickel Hydroxide Nanosheets Give Superior Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Urea for Fuel Cells
Author(s) -
Zhu Xiaojiao,
Dou Xinyu,
Dai Jun,
An Xingda,
Guo Yuqiao,
Zhang Lidong,
Tao Shi,
Zhao Jiyin,
Chu Wangsheng,
Zeng Xiao Cheng,
Wu Changzheng,
Xie Yi
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201606313
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 e − transfer process, which poses a severe hindrance to their practical use. Herein, taking β‐Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets as the proof‐of‐concept study, we demonstrated a surface‐chemistry strategy to achieve metallic Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets 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.