Single‐Step and Sustainable Fabrication of Ni(OH)₂/Ni Foam Water Splitting Catalysts via Electric Field Assisted Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid

Abstract

The prevailing barrier to produce hydrogen from water splitting is disappointingly sluggish kinetics. Furthermore, a lack of understanding of the key obstacle in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), is an obstruction to the design of efficient water‐splitting electrocatalysts. Here, we present the single‐step and fast fabrication of ready‐made Ni(OH)2/nickel foam (NF) electrocatalysts for overall water splitting by using the environmentally friendly and sustainable approach of electric‐field‐assisted pulsed laser ablation in liquid for the generation of nanoparticles (NPs) and the simultaneous electrodeposition of the NPs on the NF substrate. The as‐fabricated electrocatalyst is found to be highly efficient and stable in alkaline medium for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and OER kinetics with remarkably low overpotentials of 187 mV (vs. RHE for HER) and 166 mV (vs. RHE for OER) to reach a current density of 20 mA cm−2, with HER and OER Tafel slopes of 82 and 69 mV dec−1, respectively. The two‐electrode electrochemical cell made of the bifunctional Ni(OH)2/NF electrocatalyst requires an overpotential as low as 168 mV to drive a 10 mA/cm2 current density over a long period. These results reveal the long‐term stability and activity of the Ni(OH)2)/NF electrocatalyst towards overall water (OW) splitting. The developed sustainable approach of electrocatalyst fabrication can be extended to a range of materials, beyond Ni(OH)2/NF, to boost a range of chemical reactions, beyond water splitting.

Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction Catalyzed by Ni/NiO Nanoparticles Produced by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid Environment

“…[15] Recently, laser-based production of metal oxides NSs for water-splitting application has been reported. [16][17][18] In particular, among transition metal-oxide nanomaterials, nickel oxide has generally achieved lots of interest due its properties such as catalysis, energy storage, magnetism, optics, antibacterial activity, gas sensing, and biosensing. [19][20][21][22][23][24] Nickel-based NSs have been synthetized via laser ablation in liquids ablating nickel target in different liquids, such as water.…”

“…In particular, the synthesis is usually combined with electrophoretic deposition as an easy OER-electrode preparation method. [17,18] Unfortunately, the OER performance obtained are not quite competitive in terms of extrinsic parameters (i.e., overpotential) and low attention has been devoted to the intrinsic activity of the electrocatalyst.…”

“…[ 15 ] Recently, laser‐based production of metal oxides NSs for water‐splitting application has been reported. [ 16–18 ]…”

Counterion-controlled synthesis of multifunctional iron cobalt mixed oxide laminar superstructures

“…The test analyte FCLSs (2.49 O) have substantially lower charge-transfer resistance than the FCNPs (3.48 O), and CC (43.9 kO) sample, resulting in a comparatively efficient charge transfer at the electrode-adsorbate interface for the oxidation of intermediates (OH*, OOH*, and O*), adsorbed on the electrocatalyst surface, responsible for the OER. 28 The OER long-term durability of both samples was investigated through choronoammperometery (CA) tests at a fixed anodic overpotential of 330 mV. Thus, the current density remains constant for 20 000s of electrolysis (95.5% of the initial value).…”

“…The test analyte FCLSs (2.49 Ω) have substantially lower charge-transfer resistance than the FCNPs (3.48 Ω), and CC (43.9 kΩ) sample, resulting in a comparatively efficient charge transfer at the electrode-adsorbate interface for the oxidation of intermediates (OH*, OOH*, and O*), adsorbed on the electrocatalyst surface, responsible for the OER. 28…”