Preparation of 3D Nd(2)O(3)-NiSe-Modified Nitrogen-Doped Carbon and Its Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol and Urea

SIMPLE SUMMARY: It is vitally important that scientists are able to describe their work simply and concisely to the public, especially in an open access online journal. The simple summary consists of no more than 200 words in one paragraph and contains a clear statement of the problem addressed, the aims and objectives, pertinent results, conclusions from the study, and how they will be valuable to society. This should be written for a lay audience, i.e., no technical terms without explanations. No references are cited, and no abbreviations included. Submissions without a simple summary will be returned directly. 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 (Nd(2)O(3)-NiSe-NC) catalyst is prepared in this study by using mixed freeze-drying, salt-template-assisted technology, and high-temperature pyrolysis. The Nd(2)O(3)-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.