Lanthanum-doped α-Ni(OH)2 1D-2D-3D hierarchical nanostructures for robust bifunctional electro-oxidation (Open Access)--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Wei, Z., Sun, W., Liu, S., Qi, J., Kang, L., Li, J., . . . Xie, Y. (2021). Lanthanum-doped α-Ni(OH)2 1D-2D-3D hierarchical nanostructures for robust bifunctional electro-oxidation. Particuology, 57, 104-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2021.01.002

Lanthanum-doped α-Ni(OH)₂ 1D-2D-3D hierarchical nanostructures for robust bifunctional electro-oxidation (Open Access)

Zimeng Wei ^{a 1}, Wenbin Sun ^{a 1}, Shanshan Liu ^b, Jindi Qi ^a, Luyao Kang ^a, Jiechen Li ^a, Shanshan Lou ^a, Junfeng Xie ^a *, Bo Tang a, Yi Xie ^c *

a College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials Science, Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes (Ministry of Education), Collaborative Innovation Center of Functionalized Probes for Chemical Imaging in Universities of Shandong, Institute of Molecular and Nano Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, PR China
b College of Chemical Engineering and Safety, Binzhou University, Binzhou 256603, PR China
c Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, PR China

10.1016/j.partic.2021.01.002

Volume 57, August 2021, Pages 104-111

Received 18 December 2020, Revised 13 January 2021, Accepted 14 January 2021, Available online 5 February 2021, Version of Record 22 February 2021.

E-mail: xiejf@sdnu.edu.cn; yxie@ustc.edu.cn

Highlights

• 1D-2D-3D hierarchical nanostructure with rich edge sites for facile pre-oxidation.

• Medium-concentration La dopant inducing enriched local Ni³⁺ ions.

• Good OER and UOR activity with low overpotential and large current density.

• Enhanced pre-oxidation improving operational stability and activity.

Abstract

The development of advanced electrocatalysts for electro-oxidation reactions has attracted much attention because of the critical role of such electrocatalysts in improving the overall efficiency of coupled hydrogen production. We have developed an efficient lanthanum-doped α-Ni(OH)₂ bifunctional catalyst with a 1D-2D-3D hierarchical nanostructure. It shows superior activity and stability in the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR). Enrichment of the edge sites and conducting La doping in α-Ni(OH)₂ phase enable formation and stabilization of abundant local Ni³⁺ ions. This guarantees ultralow onset potentials in electro-oxidation reactions. The 1D-2D-3D hierarchical nanostructure significantly boosts the in situ generation of high-valence active species, which results in efficient and stable OER and UOR performances, and the synergistic merit of doping-induced facile reaction kinetics. Because of the structural benefits of a large surface area, charge-transfer promotion, good structural stability, and bifunctionality, a 1% La-doped α-Ni(OH)₂ hierarchical nanostructure gives superior OER and UOR performances with low overpotentials, large catalytic current densities, and excellent operational stability. It is therefore a promising catalyst for use in simultaneous alkaline wastewater treatment and hydrogen production.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Electro-oxidation; Urea oxidation reaction (UOR); Oxygen evolution reaction (OER); Doping; Hierarchical nanostructure

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