An inexpensive Ni-doped Co3O4 electrocatalyst for urea oxidation

Ni-doped Co3O4 catalysts with various Ni concentrations (0.01, and 0.015 M) were synthesized using a simple, cost-effective hydrothermal route. The synthesized samples are denoted as Co3O4-1 and Co3O4-2. Structural and morphological properties of as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, XPS, SEM, and HR-TEM techniques. The electrochemical characteristics for the urea oxidation (UOR) on Ni-doped Co3O4 catalyst were examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), electrochemical impendence spectroscopy (EIS), and chronoamperometry (CA). The Ni-doped Co3O4 with the lower Ni percentage (Co3O4-1) exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity toward the UOR than Co3O4-2. Co3O4-1 had a high surface area and pore size, which influence the UOR. Co3O4-1 showed high stability up to 10,000 s. Overall, Co3O4-1 has significant potential in energy consumption and wastewater treatment.