Ni-based materials as electrocatalysts for glycerol and urea oxidation Maria Garrido, Eliana S. Da Silva, Xavier Sala, Laia Francàs Department de Química, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain Climate change is one of the most important challenges of our society which is mainly caused by the combustion of fossil fuels. [1] Therefore, alternatives based on renewable energy sources are emerging as a solution. The process known as artificial photosynthesis consists of the storage of solar energy into the chemical bonds of molecules which can later be used as fuels. An example is the use of green hydrogen, obtained from water splitting in a (photo)electrochemical cell. [2] One of the main issues for its practical implementation is the slow reaction kinetics of the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) generally coupled with this process. To ease hydrogen production, the OER can be substituted with alternative anodic reactions such as the oxidation of glycerol (glycerol oxidation reaction, GOR) and urea (urea oxidation reaction, UOR). Both these reactions occur at lower potentials than OER, lowering the energy demand of the overall process. In addition, the oxidation of glycerol can yield added-value products such as dihydroxyacetone or glyceraldehyde; while urea is a common water pollutant, and its oxidation can be used to treat wastewaters. [3] In this work, Ni- and Fe-containing layered double hydroxide (LDH) structures have been synthesised by co- precipitation method. These materials are easily tuneable and have been reported as promising electrocatalysts in the previously mentioned GOR and UOR. [4] In addition, these materials have been modified by means of doping with Ru nanoparticles and the introduction of oxygen vacancies through hydrogenation. These new systems have been characterised by different techniques such as XRD, TEM, ICP-OES, FT-IR, and XPS. Their catalytic performance towards GOR and UOR has been evaluated with particular focus on the selectivity towards different oxidative. These studies have revealed that the final performance of these materials depends on the Ru doping, oxygen vacancies and the Ni-Fe ratios in the LDH structures. References 1. S. Shiva Kumar et al. Energy Reports 8, 13793 (2022) .
2. D. Gust et al. , Accounts of Chemical Research 42, 1890 (2009) . 3. W. Ruan et al. , Materials Today Chemistry 26, 101086 (2022) . 4. E. S. Da Silva et al. Chemistry – A European Journal30, e202302251 (2023) .
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