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Authors

Wen-Jing Lv, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, Yunnan, China
Xiao-Man Tang, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, Yunnan, China
Xue-Tong Wang, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, Yunnan, China
Wen-Cai Liu, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, Yunnan, China
Jian-Wen Zhu, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, Yunnan, China
Guojing Wang, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical, Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, Yunnan, China.Follow
Yuanzhi Zhu, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical, Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, Yunnan, China.Follow

Corresponding Author

Guo-Jing Wang (gjwang@kust.edu.cn);
Yuan-Zhi Zhu (yuanzhi_zhu@kust.edu.cn)

Abstract

The conversion of urea-containing wastewater into clean hydrogen energy has gained increasing attention. However, challenges remain, particularly with sluggish catalytic kinetics and limited long-term stability of urea oxidation reaction (UOR). Herein, we report the loosely porous CoOOH nano-architecture (CoOOH LPNAs) with hydrophilic surface and abundant oxygen vacancies (Ov) on carbon fiber paper (CFP) by electrochemical reconstruction of the CoP nanoneedles precursor. The resulting three-dimensional electrode exhibited an impressively low potential of 1.38 V at 1000 mA·cm−2 and excellent durability for UOR. Furthermore, when tested in an anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer, it required only 1.53 V at 1000 mA·cm−2 for industrial urea-assisted water splitting and operated stably for 100 h without degradation. Experimental and theoretical investigations revealed that rich oxygen vacancies effectively modulate the electronic structure of the CoOOH while creating unique Co3-triangle sites with Co atoms close together. As a result, the adsorption and desorption processes of reactants and intermediates in UOR could be finely tuned, thereby significantly reducing thermodynamic barriers. Additionally, the superhydrophilic self-supported nanoarray structure facilitated rapid gas bubble release, improving the overall efficiency of the reaction and preventing potential catalyst detachment caused by bubble accumulation, thereby improving both catalytic activity and stability at high current densities.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

CoOOH, Electrochemical reconstruction, Oxygen vacancy, Superhydrophilic surface, Urea electrooxidation

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Date

2025-08-28

Online Available Date

2025-05-21

Revised Date

2025-04-30

Received Date

2025-03-23

2503231-Supporting Information.pdf (4638 kB)
Superhydrophilic Porous CoOOH Nano-Architecture with Abundant Oxygen Vacancies for Enhanced Urea Electrooxidation at Ampere-Level Current Densities - Supporting Information

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