Handily etching nickel foams into catalyst–substrate fusion self‐stabilized electrodes toward industrial‐level water electrolysis

Abstract

The key challenge of industrial water electrolysis is to design catalytic electrodes that can stabilize high current density with low power consumption (i.e., overpotential), while industrial harsh conditions make the balance between electrode activity and stability more difficult. Here we develop an efficient and durable electrode for water oxidation reaction (WOR), which yields a high current density of 10000 A m -2 at an overpotential of only 284 mV and shows robust stability even in 6 M KOH strong alkaline electrolyte with elevated temperature up to 80 °C. This electrode is fabricated from cheap nickel foam (NF) substrate through a simple one-step solution etching method, resulting in the growth of ultrafine phosphorus doped nickel-iron (oxy)hydroxide (P-NiFeOOH) nanoparticles embedded into abundant micropores on surface, featured as a self-stabilized catalyst-substrate fusion electrode. Such selfstabilizing effect fastens highly active P-NiFeOOH species on conductive NF substrate with significant contribution to catalyst fixation and charge transfer, realizing a winwin tactics for WOR activity and durability at high current densities in harsh environments. This work affords a cost-effective WOR electrode that can well work at large current densities, suggestive for rational design of catalyst electrodes toward industrial-scale water electrolysis.

Orderly Nanodendritic Nickel Substitute for Raney Nickel Catalyst Improving Alkali Water Electrolyzer

“…To construct the practical AWE, we screened the NiFeOH reported previously [ 57 ] as an anodic catalyst based on its excellent OER activity and stability (Figure S16, Supporting Information). Then a two‐electrode NiFeOH‖ND‐Ni cell was assembled with a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) membrane to examine the practical water electrolysis performance (Figure S17, Supporting Information).…”

Coupled plasma etching and electrodeposition of CoP/NiO nanosheets with surface reconstruction for water-splitting

“…This etching strategy can increase the accessible electrochemical active area while improving the electron-transfer ability and stability by an in situ transfer strategy. 27 Aer CoP coating, the interconnected nanosheet structure was well maintained, and a coating layer appeared on the array surface (Fig. 1c).…”

Self‐Supported Fe‐Based Nanostructured Electrocatalysts for Water Splitting and Selective Oxidation Reactions: Past, Present, and Future

“…[ 104 ] In recent years, strong oxidative etching of NF has been used to tailor the morphology as well as chemical composition. [ 105 ] This process offers advantages like facile charge transfer as a consequence of self‐grown material. In addition, experimental control over the growth of material can produce the desired morphology and composition.…”