Controllable synthesis of mesoporous NiO/Ni nanorod as an excellent catalyst for urea electrooxidation

Mesoporous NiO/Ni rod-like structured composites have been successfully prepared through a low temperature heat treatment of the precursor NiC2O4·2H2O in N2. The composites of NiO/Ni have the advantage of optimizing electroactive sites, which can promote efficient mass transport through the mesoporous structure. Moreover, the evenly dispersed nanoparticles of nickel improve the electrical conductivity of the composites. Besides, the collaborative effects of both NiO and Ni further improve the kinetics of urea electro-oxidation process. As expected, the composites exhibit a low over potential of 120 mV at 10 mA cm−2 (vs. RHE), good kinetics performance and outstanding catalytic stability properties for urea oxidation. All results show that the mesoporous NiO/Ni obtained from nickel oxalate can provide valuable research data for improving the performance of direct urea fuel cell.