Modified NiFe2O4-Supported Graphene Oxide for Effective Urea Electrochemical Oxidation and Water Splitting Applications

Fowzia S Alamro; Shymaa S Medany; Nada S Al-Kadhi; Hoda A Ahmed; Mahmoud A Hefnawy

doi:10.3390/molecules29061215

Modified NiFe₂O₄-Supported Graphene Oxide for Effective Urea Electrochemical Oxidation and Water Splitting Applications

Molecules. 2024 Mar 8;29(6):1215. doi: 10.3390/molecules29061215.

Authors

Fowzia S Alamro¹, Shymaa S Medany², Nada S Al-Kadhi¹, Hoda A Ahmed^{2

3}, Mahmoud A Hefnawy²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
² Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.
³ Chemistry Department, College of Sciences, Taibah University, Yanbu 46423, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

The production of green hydrogen using water electrolysis is widely regarded as one of the most promising technologies. On the other hand, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is thermodynamically unfavorable and needs significant overpotential to proceed at a sufficient rate. Here, we outline important structural and chemical factors that affect how well a representative nickel ferrite-modified graphene oxide electrocatalyst performs in efficient water splitting applications. The activities of the modified pristine and graphene oxide-supported nickel ferrite were thoroughly characterized in terms of their structural, morphological, and electrochemical properties. This research shows that the NiFe₂O₄@GO electrode has an impact on both the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) and water splitting applications. NiFe₂O₄@GO was observed to have a current density of 26.6 mA cm^-2 in 1.0 M urea and 1.0 M KOH at a scan rate of 20 mV s^-1. The Tafel slope provided for UOR was 39 mV dec^-1, whereas the GC/NiFe₂O₄@GO electrode reached a current of 10 mA cm^-2 at potentials of +1.5 and -0.21 V (vs. RHE) for the OER and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), respectively. Furthermore, charge transfer resistances were estimated for OER and HER as 133 and 347 Ω cm², respectively.

Keywords: fuel cells; graphene oxide; nickel ferrite; urea electrooxidation; water splitting.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by “Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2024R107), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia”.