ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCE OF Fe-Cr-Ni ELECTRODE AS CATHODE FOR HYDROGEN EVOLUTION IN KOH SOLUTIONS

Abstract

Electrocatalytic behavior of commercially available Fe-17Cr-14Ni alloy as a cathodic material for the evolution of hydrogen in alkaline solutions has been characterized by means of microstructural and electrochemical techniques. The microstructure of the alloys was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The electrochemical behavior of the examined materials was studied through potentiodynamic polarization techniques and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The effect of electrolyte concentration on the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) rate and the cathode's electrochemical stability were studied. Tafel extrapolation method was used to determine the kinetic parameters characteristic of the hydrogen evolution reaction. The results show that the investigated alloy can be seen as a good candidate for large-scale and long-term hydrogen evolution. The rate of evolution of hydrogen under low overpotential is relatively high.