Authors
Boka Fikadu Banti, Hyojin Kang, Indra Memdi Khoris, Cheru Fekadu Molla, Birhanu Bayissa Gicha, Jihyeon Yeom, Njemuwa Nwaji, Jaebeom Lee
Published in
Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany). Pages e75303. Sep 01, 2026. Epub Sep 01, 2026.
Abstract
The urea oxidation reaction (UOR) offers a sustainable and thermodynamically favorable alternative to the oxygen evolution reaction, enabling coupling of urea-rich wastewater remediation with energy-efficient hydrogen production. However, the sluggish six-electron-transfer kinetics of UOR necessitate advanced electrocatalysts to accelerate reaction dynamics. Heterostructure engineering provides an effective strategy to regulate interfacial charge redistribution and enhance catalytic activity. Herein, we report a rationally designed MoS2/Ni3Se2 heterostructure with an intrinsic built-in electric field, constructed on nickel foam via hydrothermal growth followed by electrodeposition, exhibiting efficient bifunctional electrocatalytic activity toward UOR and the hydrogen evolution reaction. Density functional theory calculations reveal spontaneous interfacial charge transfer at the MoS2/Ni3Se2 interface, generating localized electrophilic and nucleophilic regions that facilitate urea adsorption, promote bond activation, and accelerate decomposition kinetics. Benefiting from this interfacial electronic modulation, the catalyst requires only 1.20 V vs. RHE to achieve 10 mA cm-2 for UOR in 1 M KOH + 0.5 M urea and an overpotential of 81 mV to reach the same current density for HER in 1 M KOH. Furthermore, the assembled UOR//HER electrolyzer operates at 1.31 V at 10 mA cm-2 and maintains stable performance for over 100 h. This work advances heterostructure-based urea-assisted hydrogen production for sustainable electrocatalysis.
PMID:
42682000
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 02 Sep 2026.
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