Exfoliated nickel hydroxide nanosheets for urea electrolysis

Two-dimensional nickel hydroxide nanosheets were synthesized by exfoliating surfactant intercalated layered nickel hydroxides and developed as electrocatalysts for urea electro-oxidation. The electro-oxidation of urea on Ni(OH)(2) nanosheet modified electrodes shows a decrease of 100 mV in overpotential and an enhancement in current density, which reaches ca. 154 mA cm(-2) mg(-1), by a factor of ca. 170 compared to bulk Ni(OH)(2) powder modified electrodes. The Ni(OH)(2) nanosheets have promising applications in urea-rich wastewater remediation, hydrogen production, electrochemical sensors, and fuel cells due to their ability to promote the urea electrolysis reaction. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.