Mesoporous Ni-P nanocatalysts for alkaline urea electrooxidation

•The solvothermally synthesized mesoporous Ni-P nanocatalysts were used for alkaline urea electrooxidation.•The Ni-P nanocatalysts exhibited higher activity and stability than the Ni nanocatalysts.•The structural effect of porous nanowire surface led to the superior activity.•The electronic effect between Ni and P resulted in the enhanced stability.

Mesoporous nickel phosphide (Ni-P) nanocatalysts have been synthesized via a facile solvothermal strategy and used for urea electrooxidation in alkaline medium. The physicochemical properties and electrocatalytic performances have been investigated. Due to the structural effect and electronic effect, the Ni-P nanocatalysts achieve a lower overpotential, higher activity and better stability compared with the Ni nanocatalysts. Therefore, an onset oxidation potential of 1.37 V (vs. RHE), a peak current density of 70 mA cm−2 and a good current retention of 58% for 1000 s at 1.52 V have been achieved by the Ni-P nanocatalysts, which show enhanced performance compared to the Ni nanocatalysts (1.42 V, 62 mA cm−2, 39% retention), indicating a promising application of the mesoporous Ni-P nanocatalysts towards alkaline urea electrooxidation.