Heterostructure Co3O4@NiO as bifunctional electrocatalyst for high efficient urea oxidation and hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract Herein, the synergetic effect developed between two metal oxide nanostructure mixture Co3O4@NiO is described. The result demonstrates that composite has a promising catalyst for UOR (urea oxidation reaction) and HER (hydrogen evolution reaction). XRD, SEM, TEM and FT-IR, and XPS studies reveal the formation of Co3O4@NiO. For the electrochemical study, Co3O4@NiO displayed lower onset potential −0.123 V for HER and 1.18 V vs. RHE for UOR to deliver a standard current density of 10 mA cm−2. Importantly, with a low Tafel slope of 141 and 340 mV dec−1 for UOR and HER, respectively. Thus, this present dual incorporation Co3O4@NiO catalyst could be the potential catalyst for practical-level applications.