Fe-Doped Ni2P/NiSe2 Composite Catalysts for Urea Oxidation Reaction (UOR) for Energy-Saving Hydrogen Production by UOR-Assisted Water Splitting

The development of efficient urea oxidation reaction (UOR) catalysts helps UOR replace the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in hydrogen production from water electrolysis. Here, we prepared Fe-doped Ni₂P/NiSe₂ composite catalyst (Fe-Ni₂P/NiSe₂-12) by using phosphating-selenizating and acid etching to increase the intrinsic activity and active areas. Spectral characterization and theoretical calculations demonstrated that electrons flowed through the Ni-P-Fe-interface-Ni-Se-Fe, thus conferring high UOR activity to Fe-Ni₂P/NiSe₂-12, which only needed 1.39 V vs RHE to produce the current density of 100 mA cm^-2. Remarkably, this potential was 164 mV lower than that required for the OER under the same conditions. Furthermore, EIS demonstrated that UOR driven by the Fe-Ni₂P/NiSe₂-12 exhibited faster interfacial reactions, charge transfer, and current response compared to OER. Consequently, the Fe-Ni₂P/NiSe₂-12 catalyst can effectively prevent competition with OER and NSOR, making it suitable for efficient hydrogen production in UOR-assisted water electrolysis. Notably, when water electrolysis is operated at a current density of 40 mA cm^-2, this UOR-assisted system can achieve a decrease of 140 mV in the potential compared to traditional water electrolysis. This study presents a novel strategy for UOR-assisted water splitting for energy-saving hydrogen production.