NiFe2O4 Material on Carbon Paper as an Electrocatalyst for Alkaline Water Electrolysis Module

Abstract

NiFe2O4 material is grown on carbon paper (CP) with the hydrothermal method for use as electrocatalysts in an alkaline electrolyzer. NiFe2O4 material is used as the anode and cathode catalysts (named NiFe(+)/NiFe(−) hereafter). The results are compared with those obtained using CP/NiFe as the anode and CP/Ru as the cathode (named NiFe)(+)/Ru(−) hereafter). During cell operation with NiFe(+)/Ru(−), the current density reaches 500 mA/cm2 at a cell voltage of 1.79 V, with a specific energy consumption of 4.9 kWh/m3 and an energy efficiency of 66.2%. In comparison, for NiFe(+)/NiFe(−), the current density reaches 500 mA/cm2 at a cell voltage of 2.23 V, with a specific energy consumption of 5.7 kWh/m3 and an energy efficiency of 56.6%. The Faradaic efficiency is 96–99%. With the current density fixed at 400 mA/cm2, after performing a test for 150 h, the cell voltage with NiFe(+)/Ru(−) increases by 0.167 V, whereas that with NiFe(+)/NiFe(−) decreases by only 0.010 V. Good, long-term stability is demonstrated.

Direct Current Pulse Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet Treatment on Electrochemically Deposited NiFe/Carbon Paper and Its Potential Application in an Anion-Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer

“…The performance of the electrolyzer was quantified by the parameters of energy efficiency (η) and specific energy consumption. The energy efficiency (η) is computed as η = E normalH 2 Q = P normalH 2 × 11.7 nobreak0em.25em⁡ normalJ I V ps , where E H 2 is the chemical energy of the produced hydrogen gas, Q is the electrical energy input during hydrogen production, P H 2 is the amount of hydrogen gas produced, 11.7 J is the energy per milliliter of hydrogen gas, I is the electrode current, and V ps is the power supply voltage. Additionally, the specific energy consumption for generating both a cubic meter and a kilogram of hydrogen gas was calculated.…”

“…The performance of the electrolyzer was quantified by the parameters of energy efficiency (η) and specific energy consumption. The energy efficiency (η) is computed as , 65 where E H 2 is the chemical energy of the produced hydrogen gas, Q is the electrical energy input during hydrogen production, P H 2 is the amount of hydrogen gas produced, 11.7 J is the energy per milliliter of hydrogen gas, I is the electrode current, and V ps is the power supply voltage. Additionally, the specific energy consumption for generating both a cubic meter and a kilogram of hydrogen gas was calculated.…”