Atomically dispersed Ni electrocatalyst for superior urea-assisted water splitting

Urea oxidation reaction(UOR) has been selected as substitution for oxygen evolution reaction ascribing to its low thermodynamic voltage as well as utilization of nickel as electrocatalyst.Herein,we report the formation of nickel single atoms(Ni-SAs) as exceptional bifunctional electrocatalyst toward UOR and hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) in urea-assisted water splitting.In UOR catalysis,Ni-SAs perform a superior catalytic performance than Ni-NP/NC and Pt/C ascribing to the formation of HOO-Ni-N_(4) structure evidenced by in-situ Raman spectroscopy,corresponding to a boosted mass activity by 175-fold at 1.4 V vs.RHE than Ni-NP/NC.Furthermore,Ni-SAs requires only 450 mV overpotential to obtain HER current density of 500 mA cm^(-2).136 mA cm^(-2) is achieved in urea-assisted water splitting at1.7 V for Ni-SAs,boosted by 5.7 times than Pt/C-IrO_(2) driven water splitting.

中高温质子交换膜燃料电池催化剂研究进展

中高温质子交换膜燃料电池作为一种新型能量转换装置,具有环境友好、能量转换效率高、氢气纯度要求低等特点。催化剂作为电化学反应的核心,其性能极大影响着燃料电池的整体工作效率,目前针对中高温燃料电池催化剂的研究主要集中在电化学反应动力学较慢的阴极氧还原催化剂。磷酸掺杂的聚苯并咪唑(PA-PBI)为常用的高温质子交换膜,由于磷酸与PBI的结合力差,在长时间运行过程中磷酸容易渗透到催化剂层,造成磷酸在铂基催化剂表面的强吸附导致催化剂中毒的问题,并且氧分子在磷酸中溶解度低。基于以上问题,本文综述了铂基催化剂、非铂催化剂和非金属催化剂在中高温质子交换膜燃料电池中的应用现状,重点阐述了表面修饰、合金化、载体效应等策略对催化剂在磷酸电解液中的氧还原反应动力学的影响。最后针对目前中高温质子交换燃料电池催化剂发展方向进行了探讨和展望。