Mo propellant boosting the activity of Ni-P for efficient urea-assisted water electrolysis of hydrogen evolution

Replacing the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with thermodynamically favorable urea oxidation reaction (UOR) is an appealing tactic in the energy-saving water splitting system. Herein, by a facile composite electrodeposition method, an electrocatalyst with Mo particles anchored on the Ni-P matrix (Mo/Ni-P) was fabricated and utilized for urea-assisted water electrolysis of hydrogen production. As expected, the urea-involved electrolytic cell with the as-obtained Mo/Ni-P served as both the anode and cathode merely needs a voltage of 1.55 V to sustain a current density of 50 mA cm^-2 (0.16 V less than that of the conventional water splitting at 50 mA cm^-2) and can maintain the stability for 12 h. Additionally, the solar-driven urea-assisted water electrolysis system was constructed under lab conditions and solar-hydrogen-electricity energy conversion processes were also simulated. Moreover, it was demonstrated that tungsten (W) particles can also serve as an accelerant for promotion both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and UOR activity of pristine Ni-P. This work will present a facile method for rational integration of metal particles with Ni-P layer for highly efficient electrocatalysts applied in economic production of H₂.