Facile in-situ growth of Ni2P/Fe2P nanohybrids on Ni foam for highly efficient urea electrolysis.

Graphical abstract Highlights • A new and mass-produced strategy was used to synthesize Ni 2 P/Fe 2 P/NF 3D electrode. • The Ni 2 P/Fe 2 P/NF electrode exhibits superior activity toward both UOR and HER. • Only a cell voltage of 1.47 V is required to the current density of 10 mA cm−2. • The facile synthetic strategy provides a prospect for industrializable production. Abstract Urea electrolysis is regarded as an alternative energy-saving hydrogen production technique to replace the conventional water splitting method due to the predicted lower thermodynamic potential. Herein, we demonstrate a robust and mass-produced strategy to in-situ grow Ni 2 P/Fe 2 P nanohybrids on Ni foam (Ni 2 P/Fe 2 P/NF) as an advanced electrode for overall urea electrolysis via a 30 s manual shaking reaction of FeCl 3 ·6H 2 O, K 3 [Fe(CN) 6 ] and pre-treated NF, followed by a facile phosphorization treatment. The as-prepared Ni 2 P/Fe 2 P/NF electrode exhibits high activity for the HER at 115 mV and UOR at 1.36 V with the current density of 10 mA cm−2, and only a cell voltage of 1.47 V is required to deliver the current density of 10 mA cm−2. This work reveals a promising industrializable pathway to develop non-noble materials as bifunctional catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]