Work

Reduced Nickel Cobalt Tungstate as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for Urea-Assisted Hydrogen Production

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Urea electrolysis has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional water electrolysis for hydrogen production, owing to low electrical energy consumption as well as organic wastewater. However, the practical implementation of this approach is primarily constrained by the lack of cost-effective and efficient electrocatalysts. Thus, the development of earth-abundant, non-precious metal-based bifunctional electrocatalysts toward both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) is of critical importance. In this context, nanostructured, reduced nickel-cobalt tungstate supported on Ni foam is fabricated as a binder-free, freestanding electrode via a two-step hydrothermal process followed by partial thermal reduction. By systematically tuning the precursor concentrations of Ni, Co, and W, the morphology and electronic structure of the material are effectively modulated. The introduction of oxygen vacancies through partial thermal reduction plays a key role in enhancing charge transport properties. The optimized [email protected]/NF electrode exhibits a porous, flower-like architecture and demonstrates excellent bifunctional electrocatalytic activity toward both UOR and HER, accompanied by improved mass transport behavior. When employed as both the anode and cathode for overall urea electrolysis, [email protected]/NF requires a low cell voltage of only 1.68 V to achieve a current density of 100 mA cm−2 and delivers impressive operational stability in an optimized electrolyte composed of 3 M KOH and 0.33 M urea. These results indicate that [email protected]/NF is a highly promising and efficient bifunctional electrode material for urea assisted hydrogen production.

Source: Journal of Composites Science

DOI: 10.3390/jcs10030157

Authors: Nitul Kakati, Ayon Karmakar, Marc Francis Labata, Po-Ya Abel Chuang

Institution: University of California, Merced

Language: English

Topic: Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion

Subfield: Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Field: Energy

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,172