Cu film-decorated NiCo LDH nanosheets: Superior electrocatalyst for methanol and urea oxidation

Electrochemical oxidation of methanol and urea has garnered significant attention due to their high energy densities and ease of accessibility. In this study, we present an interface engineering strategy for fabricating a NiCo layered double hydroxide electrocatalyst on a conductive Cu layer (NiCo LDH/Cu@NF) using an electrodeposition method. The heterostructured NiCo LDH/Cu@NF electrocatalyst demonstrated an exceptional current density of 171.1 mA/cm2, which is double that of NiCo LDH@NF in 1 M KOH with 0.5 M methanol. Similarly, it achieved a high current density of 138.9 mA/cm2, outperforming NiCo LDH@NF in 1 M KOH with 0.33 M urea. The superior performance of NiCo LDH/Cu@NF is attributed to its high electrochemically active surface area, abundant active sites, and lower charge transfer resistance compared to NiCo LDH@NF. These findings highlight the potential of interface optimization between the Cu support and NiCo LDH layers as a promising strategy for enhancing electrocatalytic performance in methanol and urea oxidation reactions. Future work could focus on scaling up this interface-engineering approach and exploring its applicability in other electrochemical processes.