Vol.:(0123456789)
Topics in Current Chemistry (2018) 376:42
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-018-0219-y
1 3
REVIEW
Recent Advances in the Electro‑Oxidation of Urea for Direct
Urea Fuel Cell and Urea Electrolysis
Ke Ye
1,2
· Gang Wang
1
· Dianxue Cao
1
· Guoxiong Wang
2
Received: 22 August 2018 / Accepted: 9 October 2018 / Published online: 26 October 2018
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of recent advances in urea electro-oxidation. Urea
sources are abundant from human urine, urea-containing wastewater, and industrial urea, thus becoming an attractive option as anodic fuel for the application in
direct urea fuel cells (DUFCs). Besides, as a hydrogen-rich chemical fuel, urea can
also be electrolyzed to produce hydrogen for energy storage in the near future. The
exact mechanisms of urea decomposition are pretty different in alkaline or neutral
mediums and are separately discussed in detail. More importantly, the development
of anodic electro-catalysts is of great significance for improving the electrochemical performance of both DUFCs and urea electrolysis cells, which is systematically
summarized in our review. Challenges and prospects on the future development of
urea electro-oxidation are particularly proposed.
Keywords Fuel cells · Electrolysis · Urea · Electro-oxidation · Electro-catalyst
Ke Ye and Gang Wang contributed equally to this work.
* Dianxue Cao
caodianxue@hrbeu.edu.cn
* Guoxiong Wang
wanggx@dicp.ac.cn
1
Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology of Ministry of Education,
College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University,
Harbin 150001, People’s Republic of China
2
State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Dalian
National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Dalian 116023, People’s Republic of China
Reprinted from the journal
41
Chapter 2 was originally published as Ye, K., Wang, G., Cao, D. & Wang, G. Topics in Current Chemistry
(2018) 376: 42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-018-0219-y.
Topics in Current Chemistry (2018) 376:42
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-018-0219-y
1 3
REVIEW
Recent Advances in the Electro‑Oxidation of Urea for Direct
Urea Fuel Cell and Urea Electrolysis
Ke Ye
1,2
· Gang Wang
1
· Dianxue Cao
1
· Guoxiong Wang
2
Received: 22 August 2018 / Accepted: 9 October 2018 / Published online: 26 October 2018
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of recent advances in urea electro-oxidation. Urea
sources are abundant from human urine, urea-containing wastewater, and industrial urea, thus becoming an attractive option as anodic fuel for the application in
direct urea fuel cells (DUFCs). Besides, as a hydrogen-rich chemical fuel, urea can
also be electrolyzed to produce hydrogen for energy storage in the near future. The
exact mechanisms of urea decomposition are pretty different in alkaline or neutral
mediums and are separately discussed in detail. More importantly, the development
of anodic electro-catalysts is of great significance for improving the electrochemical performance of both DUFCs and urea electrolysis cells, which is systematically
summarized in our review. Challenges and prospects on the future development of
urea electro-oxidation are particularly proposed.
Keywords Fuel cells · Electrolysis · Urea · Electro-oxidation · Electro-catalyst
Ke Ye and Gang Wang contributed equally to this work.
* Dianxue Cao
caodianxue@hrbeu.edu.cn
* Guoxiong Wang
wanggx@dicp.ac.cn
1
Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology of Ministry of Education,
College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University,
Harbin 150001, People’s Republic of China
2
State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Dalian
National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Dalian 116023, People’s Republic of China
Reprinted from the journal
41
Chapter 2 was originally published as Ye, K., Wang, G., Cao, D. & Wang, G. Topics in Current Chemistry
(2018) 376: 42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-018-0219-y.