Preparation of 3D Nd2O3-NiSe-Modified Nitrogen-Doped Carbon and Its Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol and Urea
Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Green Catalysis and Inner Mongolia Collaborative Innovation Center for Water Environment Safety, College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot 010022, China
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Nanomaterials 2023, 13(5), 814; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13050814
Submission received: 19 January 2023
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Revised: 7 February 2023
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Accepted: 14 February 2023
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Published: 22 February 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials: Preparation and Application in Electrochemistry)
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Abstract
Developing renewable energy sources and controlling water pollution are critical but challenging problems. Urea oxidation (UOR) and methanol oxidation (MOR), both of which have high research value, have the potential to effectively address wastewater pollution and energy crisis problems. A three-dimensional neodymium-dioxide/nickel-selenide-modified nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheet (Nd2O3-NiSe-NC) catalyst is prepared in this study by using mixed freeze-drying, salt-template-assisted technology, and high-temperature pyrolysis. The Nd2O3-NiSe-NC electrode showed good catalytic activity for MOR (peak current density ~145.04 mA cm−2 and low oxidation potential ~1.33 V) and UOR (peak current density ~100.68 mA cm−2 and low oxidation potential ~1.32 V); the catalyst has excellent MOR and UOR characteristics. The electrochemical reaction activity and the electron transfer rate increased because of selenide and carbon doping. Moreover, the synergistic action of neodymium oxide doping, nickel selenide, and the oxygen vacancy generated at the interface can adjust the electronic structure. The doping of rare-earth-metal oxides can also effectively adjust the electronic density of nickel selenide, allowing it to act as a cocatalyst, thus improving the catalytic activity in the UOR and MOR processes. The optimal UOR and MOR properties are achieved by adjusting the catalyst ratio and carbonization temperature. This experiment presents a straightforward synthetic method for creating a new rare-earth-based composite catalyst.
