Mesoporous Cu(OH)2 nanowire arrays for urea electrooxidation in alkaline medium

Urea oxidation reaction (UOR) is regarded as a promising strategy for efficient hydrogen production and urea-rich wastewater treatment. In this work, the Cu(OH)2 nanowire arrays directly supported on copper foam are synthesized via a facile in-situ etching technique. The one-dimension nanowire structure with abundant mesoporous endows Cu(OH)2 catalyst with considerable exposing active sites for the catalytic reaction. Additionally, the active substance directly grown on current collector without binder using can enhance conductivity and accelerate the charge transport. Beneficial from the above merits, the as-obtained Cu(OH)2 exhibits outstanding UOR performance with a potential of 1.49 V at 10 mA cm−2, lower than 1.62 V for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), small Tafel slopes of 86 mV dec−1, and good long-term stability. This work firstly indicates that Cu-based electrocatalysts have the promising application for excellent UOR performance and urea-rich wastewater treatment.