Bimetallic NiPd Nanoparticle-Incorporated Ordered Mesoporous Carbon as Highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Production via Overall Urea Electrolysis

Efficient catalysts for energy conversation from wastewater and energy storage are still existing. The effective hydrogen energy production through lower energy consumption is considered as a promising approach to access the world’s clean energy demand. Herein, an extraordinary bifunctional electrocatalytic activity on hydrogen energy production via urea electro-oxidation reaction in the alkaline electrolyte is evaluated by the highly dispersed tiny nickel–palladium bimetallic nanoparticle-incorporated ordered mesoporous carbon (Ni(10%)Pd(10%)/OMC). The systematic electrocatalytic studies on the Ni(10%)Pd(10%)/OMC bifunctional electrocatalyst shows a very low required overpotentials [1.346 and −0.117 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in 1 M KOH +0.33 M urea] to achieve urea electro-oxidation and hydrogen evolution reactions at a respective electrocatalytic current density of 30 mA cm–2, which is comparatively very lower overpotential than the oxygen evolution reaction (1.585 V vs RHE) in the water electrolysis system. Moreover, there is no remarkable electrocatalytic activity losses even after 5000 voltammetric cycles on urea electro-oxidation and hydrogen evolution reactions. The Ni(10%)Pd(10%)/OMC bifunctional electrocatalyst exhibits highly efficient and faster reaction kinetics on urea electrolysis than the other three individual electrocatalysts and reasonable performance with the benchmark Pt20%@C and IrO@C catalysts. Notably, the presence of nonprecious nickel metal promotes good electron density at palladium active sites of Ni(10%)Pd(10%)/OMC, which in turn facilitates efficient electrocatalytic reduction reactions to enhance the rate of overall urea electrolysis. Overall, the superior bifunctional ability of Ni(10%)Pd(10%)/OMC could be an appropriate energy efficient electrocatalyst to produce clean energy from wastewater treatment and fuel cell applications.