Manganese‐Modulated Cobalt‐Based Layered Double Hydroxide Grown on Nickel Foam with 1D–2D–3D Heterostructure for Highly Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction and Urea Oxidation Reaction

Abstract

Hydrogen production via energy‐efficient electrochemical water electrolysis is a green avenue to meet the development of contemporary society. However, oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR) occurring on the anode are impeded by the sluggish kinetics reaction during the water‐splitting process. Consequently, it is promising to develop bifunctional anodic electrocatalyst consisting of non‐precious metal. Herein, we report a bifunctional CoMn layered double hydroxides (LDH) grown on nickel foam with a 1D‐2D‐3D hierarchical structure for efficient OER and UOR performance in alkaline solution. Benefited from the significant synergistic effect of Mn doping and heterostrcuture engineering simultaneously, the obtained Co1Mn1 LDH/NF exhibits a satisfactory OER activity with a low potential of 1.515 V to attain 10 mA•cm‐2. Besides, the potential of Co1Mn1 LDH/NF catalyst for UOR at the same current density is only 1.326 V, much lower than other counterparts and most reported electrocatalysts. Remarkably, a urea electrolytic cell with anodic Co1Mn1 LDH/NF and cathodic Pt‐C/NF electrode is established, then the low cell voltage of 1.354 V at 10 mA•cm‐2 is acquired. The optimized strategy may endow promising candidates for developing new generation of bifunctional electrocatalysts for clean energy production.