Issue 12, 2023

Balancing dynamic evolution of active sites for urea oxidation in practical scenarios

Abstract

Electrochemical urea splitting provides a sustainable and environmentally benign route for facilitating energy conversion. Nonetheless, the sustained efficiency of urea splitting is impeded by a scarcity of active sites during extended operational periods. Herein, an atomic heterostructure engineering strategy is proposed to promote the generation of active species via synthesizing unique Ru–O4 coordinated single atom catalysts anchored on Ni hydroxide (Ru1–Ni(OH)2), with ultralow Ru loading mass of 40.6 μg cm−2 on the nickel foam for commercial feasibility. Leveraging in situ spectroscopic characterizations, the structure-performance relationship in low and high urea concentrations was investigated and exhibited extensive universality. The boosted generation of dynamic Ni3+ active sites ensures outstanding activity and prominent long-term durability tests in various practical scenarios, including 100 h Zn–urea–air battery operation, 100 h alkaline urine electrolysis, and over 400 h stable hydrogen production in membrane electrode assembly (MEA) system under industrial-level current density.

Graphical abstract: Balancing dynamic evolution of active sites for urea oxidation in practical scenarios

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Sep 2023
Accepted
30 Oct 2023
First published
31 Oct 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Energy Environ. Sci., 2023,16, 6015-6025

Balancing dynamic evolution of active sites for urea oxidation in practical scenarios

J. Zhang, J. Zhu, L. Kang, Q. Zhang, L. Liu, F. Guo, K. Li, J. Feng, L. Xia, L. Lv, W. Zong, P. R. Shearing, D. J. L. Brett, I. P. Parkin, X. Song, L. Mai and G. He, Energy Environ. Sci., 2023, 16, 6015 DOI: 10.1039/D3EE03258B

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