Synthesis and Characterization of Ni-Zn-Fe Alloy as an Electrocatalyst for Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Binary alloy of metals is an effective catalyst for hydrogen evolution using water electrolysis. The development of non-noble and low-cost material is very promising used as catalysis. Here, this work focuses on the electrodeposition of Ni-Fe-Zn as electrocatalyst for alkaline water electrolysis. Ni-Zn-Fe was deposited using co-deposition method at various potentials and plating times. The produced electrocatalyst was characterized using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscope. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used to characterize the electrochemical behaviour of the alloy in 1.0 M KOH. The metaphase of Ni-Zn-Fe alloys showed in XRD spectra which present the electrodeposits of metal alloys. The SEM spectra captured the agglomerates particle with rougher morphology and larger surface area which highly desirable for solid catalysts. Electrodeposition of the alloy showed that for every increase in voltage corresponds to an increase of 0.12 607 on the mass deposit. CV scan showed the hydrogen oxidation process. The forward and backward passes follow the same trace which indicates that no other reaction is taking place during the first CV scan. These results indicate the excellent catalytic activity of Ni-Zn-Fe electrocatalyst for bright prospect of hydrogen production by alkaline water electrolysis.

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Atomic Heterointerface Engineering Breaks Activity Limitation of Electrocatalysts and Promises Highly-Efficient Alkaline Water Splitting

Energy & Environmental Science ◽

10.1039/d1ee02105b ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Qiucheng Xu ◽

Jiahao Zhang ◽

Haoxuan Zhang ◽

Liyue Zhang ◽

Ling Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Splitting ◽

Anion Exchange ◽

Low Cost ◽

Water Electrolysis ◽

Anion Exchange Membrane ◽

Alkaline Water Electrolysis ◽

Green Electricity ◽

Alkaline Water ◽

Highly Efficient ◽

Exchange Membrane

Alkaline water splitting, especially the anion-exchange-membrane based water electrolysis, is an attractive way for low-cost and scalable H2 production. Green electricity-driven alkaline water electrolysis is requested to develop highly-efficient electrocatalysts...

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Non-Precious Electrodes for Practical Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma12081336 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 1336 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Alejandro N. Colli ◽

Hubert H. Girault ◽

Alberto Battistel

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Low Cost ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Water Electrolysis ◽

Industrial Applications ◽

Alkaline Water Electrolysis ◽

Stainless Steel 316L ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Alkaline Water ◽

Cell Components

Water electrolysis is a promising approach to hydrogen production from renewable energy sources. Alkaline water electrolyzers allow using non-noble and low-cost materials. An analysis of common assumptions and experimental conditions (low concentrations, low temperature, low current densities, and short-term experiments) found in the literature is reported. The steps to estimate the reaction overpotentials for hydrogen and oxygen reactions are reported and discussed. The results of some of the most investigated electrocatalysts, namely from the iron group elements (iron, nickel, and cobalt) and chromium are reported. Past findings and recent progress in the development of efficient anode and cathode materials appropriate for large-scale water electrolysis are presented. The experimental work is done involving the direct-current electrolysis of highly concentrated potassium hydroxide solutions at temperatures between 30 and 100 °C, which are closer to industrial applications than what is usually found in literature. Stable cell components and a good performance was achieved using Raney nickel as a cathode and stainless steel 316L as an anode by means of a monopolar cell at 75 °C, which ran for one month at 300 mA cm−2. Finally, the proposed catalysts showed a total kinetic overpotential of about 550 mV at 75 °C and 1 A cm−2.

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