Ceria-based quantum dots/nanorods supported metallic cobalt for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production

The concentration of photogenerated electrons on support surface has a significant impact on the photocatalytic performance of the corresponding catalyst. Herein, the CeO₂-based homojunction support consisted of quantum dots/nanorods (QDs/NRs) was fabricated by two-step calcination with assistance of KCI and NaCl. Based on CeO₂-QDs/NRs support, the Co-based catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from Ammonia Borane (NH₃BH₃). The catalysts exhibited the highest activity with TOF 96.15 min⁻¹ under optimized conditions, which was significantly improved compared Co/CeO₂ NRs (68.5 min⁻¹). Detailed structure characterizations revealed that the QDs with size range from 2 to 5 nm grow on the surface of NRs, which had capacity to transfer more photogenerated electrons from the bulk to surface compared with pristine CeO₂ NRs. Meanwhile, work function was upshifted from CeO₂ NRs to CeO₂-QDs/NRs. The synergy of two factors drove more electrons transfer from CeO₂-QDs/NRs to active metal Co, accelerating the adsorption and activation of NH₃BH₃. In addition, the forming mechanization QDs by inducing the morphological evolution of CeO₂ nanoparticles was also investigated. This work not only provides efficient photocatalyst for H₂ evolution from NH₃BH₃ but also provides new insights into the design and preparation efficient QDs-based homojunction catalyst.     

Photo-enhanced catalytic hydrogen production from ammonia borane dehydrogenation over cobalt doped n-type semiconductors

Aimed at achieving the photo-enhanced dehydrogenation of ammonia borane (NH₃BH₃) in aqueous solutions, p-type cobalt (Co) doped n-type semiconductors (TiO₂, WO₃ and TiO₂-WO₃) based heterojunction structures were proposed for hydrogen production. In the present study, the Co doped n-type semiconductors such as titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and tungsten oxide (WO₃) were synthesized by hydrothermal synthesis to obtain heterojunction structure and characterized by XRD, SEM/EDS, TEM, FT-IR and UV–Vis techniques. The photo-enhanced catalytic hydrogen production from NH₃BH₃ dehydrogenation over Co doped n-type semiconductors were tested under light-irradiation (UV-light and day-light) in presence of organic and inorganic scavengers. The experimental results showed that Co @TiO₂-WO₃ heterojunction structure improved hydrogen production almost three times in terms of TOF values (821 h⁻¹) compared to Co@TiO₂ (292 h⁻¹) due to photoelectrons and hole pairs increases activity. The pseudo first order kinetics based on Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) kinetic model fitting revealed that apparent adsorption constant calculated in presence of Co@TiO₂-WO₃ with lowest value as 4.99 h⁻¹ and 9.75 h⁻¹ for both region, respectively.     

Ultrafine cobalt–molybdenum–boron nanocatalyst for enhanced hydrogen generation property from the hydrolysis of ammonia borane

The hydrolysis of ammonia borane (NH₃BH₃) is recognized as an efficient way of hydrogen generation if it can be effectively catalyzed. In this work, a series of cobalt–molybdenum–boron (Co–Mo–B) nanoparticles (NPs) on copper (Cu) foil are introduced as catalysts for NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis by electroless deposition method. The influence of the depositing pH value on the catalytic property is investigated by adjusting the pH value ranged from 10.5 to 12.0. By optimizing the value to 11, the ultrafine Co–Mo–B NPs with the grain size around 4.3 nm show the best catalytic property for NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis. The hydrogen generation rate reaches 5818.0 mL·min⁻¹·g⁻¹ when the hydrolysis temperature is 298 K. The thermodynamic tests show that the lower activation energy (E_a) is estimated to be 59.3 kJ·mol⁻¹. It can be found that the catalytic property in this work overtakes that of partial non-precious metal NPs, and is even better than some precious metal NPs previously reported. The hydrolysis reaction of NH₃BH₃ catalyzed by ultrafine Co–Mo–B NPs is a non-spontaneous process. In addition, the cycling ability of the ultrafine Co–Mo–B NPs is also studied and the results demonstrate that the catalyst is a recyclable one toward the hydrolysis of NH₃BH₃ under mild reaction conditions.     

CeO2 supported multimetallic nano materials as an efficient catalyst for hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of NaBH4

Nowadays, there is still no suitable method to store large amounts of energy. Hydrogen can be stored physically in carbon nanotubes or chemically in the form of hydride. In this study, sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) was used as the source of hydrogen. However, an inexpensive and useful catalyst (Co–Cr–B/CeO₂) was synthesized using the NaBH₄ reduction method and its property was characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurements. The optimized Co–Cr–B/CeO₂ catalyst exhibited an excellent hydrogen generation rate (9182 mLg_metal⁻¹min⁻¹) and low activation energy (35.52 kJ mol⁻¹). The strong catalytic performance of the Co–Cr–B/CeO₂ catalyst is thought to be based on the synergistic effect between multimetallic nanoparticles and the effective charge transfer interactions between the metal and the support material.     

Preparation and catalytic activity of thin-film cobalt–tungsten–boron for the hydrolysis of ammonia borane

In this work, cobalt–tungsten–boron nanoparticles (Co–W–B) have been successfully deposited on foam Ni to manufacture thin-film catalysts by electroless plating technique and applied in hydrogen generation from ammonia borane (NH₃BH₃) hydrolysis. Physicochemical properties of Co–W–B nanoparticles are characterized by XRD (Powder X–ray diffraction), SEM (Scanning electron microscopy), and EDS (Energy dispersive X–ray spectroscopy). It is observed that Co–W–B showed irregular spherical structure on the surface of foam Ni substrate. An increase of depositional pH value in the preparation process leads to the change of particle size. When the pH value is equal to 11.5, as-synthesized Co–W–B exhibits the smaller particle size, which suggests that depositional pH value has directly impacted the nucleation and growth of catalysis particles. The optimized Co–W–B catalyst displays higher catalytic activity toward NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis with a specific rate of hydrogen generation of 12933.3 mL min^?1·g^?1 at room temperature. Moreover, the lower apparent activation energy of 47.3 kJ mol^?1 is achieved. Compared with previously reported catalysts, the as-obtained catalytic performance is situated at the better rank. Moreover, the reusability has been investigated under the mild NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis conditions. It reveals that as-fabricated thin-film Co–W–B maintains excellent durability after five cycles. A possible mechanism for the released hydrogen from NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis using Co–W–B catalyst has been proposed.     

Ammonia decomposition over SiO2-supported Ni–Co bimetallic catalyst for COx-free hydrogen generation

NH₃ decomposition over non-noble catalyst to generate CO_x-free H₂ has attracted great attention in recent years. In this work, fumed SiO₂-supported Ni, Co and Ni–Co bimetallic catalysts are synthesized by using a co-impregnation method and evaluated for NH₃ decomposition, which shows that the bimetallic catalysts exhibit better catalytic activity than the monometallic ones. This enhanced activity observed on bimetallic catalyst can be largely attributed to the more appropriate catalyst metal-N binding energy resulting from the synergistic effect between Ni and Co in the formed Ni–Co alloy. Among the synthesized catalysts, Ni₅Co₅/SiO₂ synthesized with the Ni/Co molar ratio of 5:5 achieves 76.8% NH₃ conversion under a GHSV of 30,000 mL h⁻¹ g⁻¹_cat at 550 °C and shows the best catalytic activity, which can be further improved by doping with K (78.1% NH₃ conversion at 30,000 mL h⁻¹ g⁻¹_cat), and the obtained Ni₅Co₅/SiO₂–K also shows excellent catalytic stability.     

Enriched oxygen vacancy promoted heteroatoms (B,P, N,and S) doped CeO2: Challenging electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline medium

Increasing worldwide energy consumption has prompted considerable study into energy generation and energy storage systems in recent years. Chemical fuels may be produced efficiently via electrocatalytic water splitting, which uses electric and solar power. The development of efficient anodic electrocatalysts for efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a greater concern of present energy research. Cerium oxide (CeO₂) are promising electrocatalysts that exhibit outstanding OER but their reduced stability obstructs the practical application. A novel strategy was established to construct an effective catalyst of heteroatom (N, B, P and S) doped CeO₂ matrix were prepared. Moreover, the doping of heteroatoms into the CeO₂ matrix processes the improved electronic conductivity, reactive sites, increases the electrochemical catalytic activity, which enhances the water oxidation reaction. Consequently, well-suited alkaline electrolysers were brought together for water oxidation to ideal OER electrocatalytic activity. The OER activity of the electrocatalysts follows the order of S–CeO₂ (190 mV@10 mA cm⁻²), N– CeO₂ (220 mV @10 mA cm⁻²), P– CeO₂ (230 mV @10 mA cm⁻²), B–CeO₂ (250 mV @10 mA cm⁻²) and CeO₂ (260 mV @10 mA cm⁻²) in 1 M of KOH. From the kinetics analysis, Tafel slope value achieved for catalysts CeO₂, B–CeO_2, P–CeO₂, N–CeO₂ and S–CeO₂ are 142 mV dec⁻¹,121 mV dec⁻¹, 102 mV dec⁻¹, 98 mV dec⁻¹ and 83 mV dec⁻¹ respectively. These results validate that the S–CeO₂ electrode is prominent for OER performance with the requirement of cell voltage of 1.42 V at 10 mA cm⁻² current density. In addition, sulphur doped CeO₂ relatively have excellent stability through chrono-potentiometric analysis lasting for 20 h. Although the heteroatoms doped CeO₂ is acts as anode material, the preparation method is widespread, which will reduce the synthesis cost and streamline the preparation of electrode for OER. This research effort delivers a complete advantage for the development of robust, environmentally friendly and highly dynamic electrocatalysts for OER activity.     

OER properties of Ni–Co–CeO2/Ni composite electrode prepared by magnetically induced jet electrodeposition

Hydrogen production from water electrolysis with catalysts is a simple, effective, and environmentally friendly way. However, the slow kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) directly affects the catalytic efficiency of water electrolysis during hydrogen production. While the high cost of noble metal catalysts limits their engineering applications. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop an economical and abundant catalyst with efficient OER performance to replace noble metal catalysts to reduce costs. In this work, we propose a method for the preparation of composite catalytic electrodes by magnetically induced jet electrodeposition. Ni–Co–CeO₂/Ni composite electrodes with a unique micro-nano structure and a large specific surface area were rapidly obtained through magnetically induced adsorption of nano-mixed particles. It was found that the Ni–Co–CeO₂/Ni composite electrode deposited by magnetically induced electrodeposition exhibited a lower overpotential of 301 mV@10 mA/cm² when the nano-mixed particle concentration was 2 g/L, and the corresponding Tafel slope was as low as 43.72 mV/dec. The key parameters of overpotential and Tafel slope reach or even outperform the best noble metal electrode in the industry, indicating that the Ni–Co–CeO₂/Ni composite electrode had excellent OER catalytic performance. The study demonstrates that magnetically induced jet electrodeposition provides a new method for the preparation of catalytic electrodes, which has important applications in the electrolysis of water for hydrogen production.     

Improved catalytic performance of metal oxide catalysts fabricated with electrospinning in ammonia borane methanolysis for hydrogen production

Electrospun Ni and Cu metal oxide catalysts are successfully synthesized through electrospinning and conventional sol-gel methods to show advantages of electrospinning on catalytic performance in ammonia borane (NH₃BH₃) methanolysis for hydrogen production. An experimental assessment is presented by the characterization of interior and exterior properties of all catalysts and their catalytic activity towards NH₃BH₃ methanolysis. The systematic studies are performed in order to figure out of kinetic interpretation. Catalytic NH₃BH₃ methanolysis reactions are carried out at different catalyst amounts (5–15 mg), initial NH₃BH₃ concentrations (0.36–6.0 M) and temperatures (20–50 °C). Thanks to the higher pore volume/S_BET ratio, fiber type nanostructured Cu oxide catalyst exhibits the highest catalytic activity compared with sol-gel prepared ones. The results of kinetic studies show that the fiber type Cu oxide catalyst catalyzed methanolysis of NH₃BH₃ and follows the first order reaction kinetic model with 35 kJ mol⁻¹ activation energy value.     

Catalytic activities of non-noble metals for hydrogen generation from aqueous ammonia–borane at room temperature

We have studied catalytic performance of supported non-noble metals for hydrogen generation from aqueous NH₃BH₃ at room temperature. Among the tested non-noble metals, supported Co, Ni and Cu are the most catalytically active, with which hydrogen is released with an almost stoichiometric amount from aqueous NH₃BH₃, whereas supported Fe is catalytically inactive for this reaction. Support effects on the catalytic activity have been investigated by testing the hydrogen generation reaction in the presence of Co supported on γ-Al₂O₃, SiO₂ and C and it is found that the Co/C catalyst has higher activity. Activation energy for hydrogen generation from aqueous NH₃BH₃ in the presence of Co/γ-Al₂O₃ was measured to be 62 kJ mol⁻¹; this may correspond to the step of BN bond breaking. Particle size, surface morphology and surface area of the supported metal catalysts were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and BET experiments. It is found that with decreasing the particle size the activity of the supported catalyst is increased. The low-cost and high-performance supported non-noble metal catalysts may have high potential to find its application to the hydrogen generation for portable fuel cells.     

Influence of CeO2 morphology on WO3/CeO2 catalyzed NO selective catalytic reduction by NH3

WO₃/CeO₂ catalysts with different support morphologies were fabricated by incipient wetness technique and applied to selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH₃ (NH₃-SCR). WO₃/CeO₂ rod (WCR) displayed higher catalytic activity and resistance to SO₂ and H₂O compared with WO₃/CeO₂ polyhedron (WCP) and WO₃/CeO₂ cube (WCC). N₂-BET, XRD, Raman, H₂-TPR, TEM, HRTEM, NH₃-TPD, XPS and in situ DRIFTS were conducted to investigate the physicochemical properties of the catalysts and the adsorption of NH₃ and NO_x species on the catalytic surface. These characterization results demonstrated that the larger BET surface area, the smaller CeO₂ particle size, the higher surface acidity, the more oxygen defects, the better redox performance, and the higher Ce³⁺ and O_α ratios of the catalysts played critical functions in obtaining more outstanding NH₃-SCR catalytic performance. All of these characterization results were also closely related to the CeO₂ morphology. The results of the in situ DRIFTS showed that the WCR had the highest intensities of the adsorbed NO_x and NH₃ species among these three catalysts. The reactions between adsorbed species attributed to NO_x and NH₃ on the catalyst surface can also be a key factor in the NH₃-SCR catalytic performance enhancement.     

Simple synthesis of Cu2O–CoO nanoplates with enhanced catalytic activity for hydrogen production from ammonia borane hydrolysis

The development of inexpensive and high performing catalysts for ammonia borane (NH₃BH₃) hydrolysis is crucial for hydrogen production. In our research, a high-performance plate-like Cu₂O–CoO nanocomposite catalyst for NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis has been developed for the first time. In the hydrolytic reaction, both Cu₂O and CoO are separately inactive, while Cu₂O–CoO nanoplates show a high turnover frequency of 34.1 mol_hydrogen min⁻¹ mol_cat⁻¹, which is attributed to the synergistic effect between Cu₂O and CoO. It is interesting to discover that the induction time for the hydrolytic reaction is reduced to null when a small amount of Cu₂O is introduced into CoO. The reaction kinetics of NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis catalyzed by Cu₂O–CoO is also investigated. This work may provide other researchers some valuable insights into designing inexpensive and synergistic catalysts with enhanced catalytic activity for NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis for hydrogen production.     

Hydrogen production from sodium borohydride originated compounds: Fabrication of electrospun nano-crystalline Co3O4 catalyst and its activity

Electrospun nanofibers are prepared through electrospinning followed by post-treatment and preferred to use in catalytic applications. The electrospinning provides advantages for active catalysts design based on activity profiles and features of catalyst. In the present study, we fabricated nano-crystalline cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) catalyst by electrospinning technique followed by thermal conditioning. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based Co as-spun mats (Co/NMs) with homogeneous diameter were prepared by electrospinnig process under several conditions as applied voltage (15–25 kV), working distance (5–7.5 cm) with the feed rate of 1 ml min⁻¹. The calcination process as a post-treatment was applied at different temperatures (232 °C, 289 °C and 450 °C) to obtain electrospun nano-crystalline Co₃O₄ catalyst. Co/NMs catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, FT-IR, TG/DTG, and ICP-MS techniques. The parametrically study was performed for evaluating the hydrogen production activity of catalyst from sodium borohydride (NaBH₄, SBH) and its originated compounds as ammonia borane (NH₃BH₃, AB) and methyl-amine borane (CH₃NH₂BH₃, MeAB). The relation between the internal-external properties and catalytic activities of catalysts for hydrogen production was investigated. The beadless Co/NMs-1 catalyst with homogeneous diameter was obtained under electrospinnig process conditions at 15 kV applied voltage and 7.5 cm working distance. All catalysts showed activity for hydrogen production, also the significant effect of post treatment process was observed on the catalytic activity as given order: Co/NMs-1₄₅₀ > Co/NMs-1₂₈₉ > Co/NMs-1 > Co/NMs-1₂₃₂. Furthermore, mesoporous Co₃O₄ cubic crystals (26 nm) in fibrous architecture was prepared by 450 °C-post-treatment. Hydrogen production rates were recorded at 60 °C as 2.08, 2.20, and 6.39 l H₂.g_cat⁻¹min⁻¹ for NaBH₄, CH₃NH₂BH₃, and NH₃BH₃, respectively.     

Epoxy-activated acrylic particulate polymer-supported Co–Fe–Ru–B catalyst to produce H2 from hydrolysis of NH3BH3

Epoxy-activated acrylic particulate polymer, namely Eupergit CM, supported Co–Fe–Ru–B catalyst (EP/Co–Fe–Ru–B) for the first time was used to produce H₂ from hydrolysis of NH₃BH₃. The EP/Co–Fe–Ru–B showed very effective performance in the production of H₂ from the hydrolysis of NH₃BH₃. Various techniques such as XRD, SEM-EDS, ICP-OES, and TEM have been used to characterize these catalysts. The parameters on the hydrolysis reaction of NH₃BH₃ such as the effect of metal amount, the effect of Ru percentage, the effect of NH₃BH₃ concentration, the effect of NaOH concentration, the amount of catalyst, temperature, and catalyst durability were investigated in detail. Eupergit CM based polymer support and Ru particles have been found to be highly effective in H₂ production reactions. The hydrogen production rate (HGR) of the EP/Co–Fe–Ru–B catalyst was found to be 36,978 mL/min/g_cat, which was quite good compared to the values reported in the literature. In addition, the activation energy (Ea) of the polymer-supported Co–Fe–Ru–B catalyst was determined as 24.91 kJ/mol.     

CeO2 nanorod decorated NrGO additives for boosting PEMFC performance

This study presents a novel and highly efficient CeO₂-based type of additives to improve the performance of PEM fuel cells. Cerium(IV) oxide (CeO₂) nanorods and CeO₂ nanorod decorated nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NrGO) (CeO₂/NrGO) were synthesized and utilized to enhance the ORR performance of PEMFCs. With a low energy transition between Ce⁺³ to Ce⁺⁴ and its high catalytic activity, CeO₂ could promote O₂ reduction. The structural properties of CeO₂ nanorods and the CeO₂/NrGO composite were investigated using XRD, RAMAN, SEM, TEM, TGA, BET, and XPS. The synthesized CeO₂ nanorods and CeO₂/NrGO composite were mixed with a low platinum loading (0.09 mg_Pt.cm⁻¹), and ex-situ electrochemical characterizations were performed (CV and LSV) to evaluate their catalytic activities. Fuel cell performance tests and in-situ impedance analyses were also conducted to confirm the electrochemical results. Compared to commercial Pt/C-based MEA (269 mW.cm⁻²), the addition of both CeO₂ nanorods (382 mW.cm⁻²) and CeO₂/NrGO (389 mW.cm⁻²) to the catalyst layer showed a significant enhancement in fuel cell performance, due to the unique oxygen buffer ability of the synthesized additives.     

Hydrogen release mechanism and performance of ammonia borane catalyzed by transition metal catalysts Cu‐Co/MgO(100)

The catalytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane (NH₃BH₃, AB) molecule is most frequently employed by metal catalysts, but a reliable dehydrogenation mechanism in molecular level has yet to be fully illuminated. Herein, adopting the density functional theory (DFT) method, the dehydrogenation mechanism and performance of NH₃BH₃ under the transition metal catalysts (Cu/MgO, Co/MgO, CuCo/MgO) were studied. The calculated results show that the dehydrogenation mechanism of AB refers to stepwise dehydrogenation mechanism: AB is adsorbed in the transition metal catalysts firstly, then one H(N) atom transferred to H(B) of ―BH₃ and to form H₂ molecule via the broken of B―H and N―H bond, finally, H₂ molecule desorption from the catalyst complexes. Among the transition metal catalysts, CuCo/MgO have the perfect catalytic activity in dehydrogenation reaction of NH₃BH₃, its barrier energy of the feasible pathway (path A) is 22.26 kcal/mol, which is lower than the barrier energy of AB‐Cu/MgO(28.13 kcal/mol), AB‐Co/MgO(27.46 kcal/mol), and the results of thermogravimetric analysis further verified the reasonability of DFT calculational results. Besides, partial density of states calculational results show the electron orbital hybridization of Cu, Co atom may account for the excellent catalytic performance of CuCo/MgO(100) compared with the Cu/MgO(100) and Co/MgO(100) in dehydrogenation process of AB.     

The deactivation effect of Na2O and NaCl on CeO2–TiO2 catalysts for selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3

The effect of Na₂O and NaCl on CeO₂–TiO₂ catalyst for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH₃ was investigated with BET, XRD, XPS, NH₃-TPD, H₂-TPR, in-situ DRIFT and catalytic activity measurements. The results showed that both Na species could deactivate the CeO₂–TiO₂ catalyst and Na₂O had a stronger effect than NaCl. The more serious deactivation by Na₂O could be ascribed to smaller surface area, fewer surface Ce³⁺ and chemical adsorbed oxygen, lower surface acidity, and worse reducibility. The introduction of NaCl and Na₂O facilitated the formation of new surface NO_x adspecies, but were inactive in NH₃-SCR reaction. The adsorption of NH₃ were inhibited. The NH₃-SCR reaction over the CeO₂–TiO₂ catalyst was governed by both E-R and L-H mechanisms. The introduction of NaCl and Na₂O didn't change the NH₃-SCR reaction mechanisms.     

Carbon nanotube-graphene hybrid supported platinum as an effective catalyst for hydrogen generation from hydrolysis of ammonia borane

In this study, we report the results of a kinetic study on the hydrogen (H₂) generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia borane (NH₃BH₃) catalyzed by Platinum supported on carbon nanotube-graphene hybrid material (Pt/CNT-G). Synthesized catalyst was characterized by TGA, XRD, CP-OES, TEM and SEM-EDX techniques. Characterization studies have shown that the CNT-G hybrid support material provides desired distribution of the Pt particles on the support material. The effect of various parameters such as catalyst loading, reaction temperature, effect of NaOH and the effect of NH₃BH₃ concentration are also determined. Experimental results showed that the Pt/CNT-G catalyst exhibited high catalytic activity on NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis reaction to release H₂. It has been found that Pt/CNT-G catalyst shows low activation energy of 35.34 kJ mol⁻¹ for hydrolysis reaction of NH₃BH₃. Pt/CNT-G catalyst also exhibited high catalytic activity with turnover frequency (TOF) of 135 (mol_H2/mol_cat.min). Therefore, the synthesized Pt/CNT-G catalyst is a potential candidate for enhanced H₂ generation through NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis.     

Phase transition in V-doped cobalt hydroxide for efficient oxygen evolution and urea oxidation reaction

In this work, many kinds of V doped Co(OH)₂ electrodes were in situ synthesized on Ni foam by a one-step typical hydrothermal process. It is worth noting that the phase transition composition of the V doped Co(OH)₂ material can be modulated by the difference of the amount of the V introduced. Different crystal phase compositions show different water oxidation activities. It is worth noting that the V2–Co(OH)₂/NF electrode shows better oxygen evolution performance (Overpotential of 320 mV@50 mA cm⁻²) compared with Co(OH)₂/NF (450 mV@50 mA cm⁻²), V1–Co(OH)₂/NF (340 mV@50 mA cm⁻²) and V3–Co(OH)₂/NF (350 mV@50 mA cm⁻²) electrodes. The experimental results show that not all doping can improve the electrochemistry performance of electrodes, such as the oxidation of urea. Density functional theory calculation further proves that the doping of the V is favorable to the adsorption of water and inhibits the adsorption of urea. This study provides a new idea for the development of efficient overall water splitting catalysts.