Highly porous nickel@carbon sponge as a novel type of three-dimensional anode with low cost for high catalytic performance of urea electro-oxidation in alkaline medium

• Porous Ni@carbon sponge shows 3D open network structures with a large surface area.
• The electrode achieves an onset oxidation potential of 0.24 V (vs. Ag/AgCl).
• The electrode exhibits superior catalytic activity (290 mA cm−2) and stability for urea electro-oxidation.

Highly porous nickel@carbon sponge electrode with low cost is synthesized via a facile sponge carbonization method coupled with a direct electrodeposition of Ni. The obtained electrodes are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The catalytic performances of urea electro-oxidation in alkaline medium are investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). The Ni@carbon sponge electrode exhibits three-dimensional open network structures with a large surface area. Remarkably, the Ni@carbon sponge electrode shows much higher electrocatalytic activity and lower onset oxidation potential towards urea electro-oxidation compared to a Ni/Ti flat electrode synthesized by the same procedure. The Ni@carbon sponge electrode achieves an onset oxidation potential of 0.24 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and a peak current density of 290 mA cm−2 in 5 mol L−1 NaOH and 0.10 mol L−1 urea solutions accompanied with a desirable stability. The impressive electrocatalytic activity is largely attributed to the high intrinsic electronic conductivity, superior porous network structures and rich surface Ni active species, which can largely boost the interfacial electroactive sites and charge transfer rates for urea electro-oxidation in alkaline medium, indicating promising applications in fuel cells.

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