A self-supported porous NiMo electrocatalyst to boost the catalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction

• Published in: Dalton transactions : an international journal of inorganic chemistry Vol. 53; no. 21; pp. 927 - 9215
• Main Authors: Kong, Qingxiang, Li, Yulei, Zhao, Qin, Liu, Zhenwei, Wu, Song, Tong, Xiaoning, Wang, Junli, Huang, Bangfu, Xu, Ruidong, Yang, Linjing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 28.05.2024
• Subjects: Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Charge transfer; Current density; Decomposition reactions; Diffusion rate; Electrocatalysis; Electrocatalysts; Electrodeposition; Hydrogen; Hydrogen evolution reactions; Hydrogen-based energy; Metal foams; Nickel; Noble metals; Stability tests; Transition metals
• ISSN: 1477-9226; 1477-9234
• DOI: 10.1039/d4dt00508b

To develop hydrogen energy production and address the issues of global warming, inexpensive, effective, and long-lasting transition metal-based electrocatalysts for the synthesis of hydrogen are crucial. Herein, a porous electrocatalyst NiMo/Ni/NF was successfully constructed by a two-step electrodeposition process, and was used in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of electrocatalytic water decomposition. NiMo nanoparticles were coated on porous Ni/NF grown on nickel foam (NF), leading to a resilient porous structure with enhanced conductivity for efficient charge transfer, as well as distinctive three-dimensional channels for quick electrolyte diffusion and gas release. Notably, the low overpotential (42 mV) and fast kinetics (Tafel slope of 44 mV dec −1 ) at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in 1.0 M KOH solution demonstrate the excellent HER activity of the electrode, which was superior to that of recently reported non-noble metal-based catalysts. Additionally, NiMo/Ni/NF showed extraordinary catalytic durability in stability tests at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 for 70 h. The porous structure catalyst and the electrodeposition-electrocatalysis technique examined in this study offer new approaches for the advancement of the electrocatalysis field because of these benefits. A simple electrodeposition method for preparing porous catalyst (NiMo/Ni/NF) for hydrogen evolution by electrolytic water is reported in this paper. The catalyst has excellent hydrogen evolution performance.