Decoration of Micro-/Nanoscale Noble Metal Particles on 3D Porous Nickel Using Electrodeposition Technique as Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Electrolyte

Xin Qian, Tao Hang, Sangaraju Shanmugam, Ming Li

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Scopus citations

Abstract

Micro-/nanoscale noble metal (Ag, Au, and Pt) particle-decorated 3D porous nickel electrodes for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolyte are fabricated via galvanostatic electrodeposition technique. The developed electrodes are characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical measurements including Tafel polarization curves, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It is clearly shown that the enlarged real surface area caused by 3D highly porous dendritic structure has greatly reinforced the electrocatalytic activity toward HER. Comparative analysis of electrodeposited Ag, Au, and Pt particle-decorated porous nickel electrodes for HER indicates that both intrinsic property and size of the noble metal particles can lead to distinct catalytic activities. Both nanoscale Au and Pt particles have further reinforcement effect toward HER, whereas microscale Ag particles exhibit the reverse effect. As an effective 3D hydrogen evolution cathode, the nanoscale Pt-particle-decorated 3D porous nickel electrode demonstrates the highest catalytic activity with an extremely low overpotential of -0.045 V for hydrogen production, a considerable exchange current density of 9.47 mA cm-2 at 25 °C, and high durability in long-term electrolysis, all of which are attributed to the intrinsic catalytic property and the extremely small size of Pt particles. (Graph Presented).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)15716-15725
Number of pages10
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume7
Issue number29
DOIs
StatePublished - 29 Jul 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 American Chemical Society.

Keywords

  • 3D porous nickel electrode
  • electrocatalyst
  • electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
  • electrodeposited noble metal particles
  • hydrogen evolution reaction

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Decoration of Micro-/Nanoscale Noble Metal Particles on 3D Porous Nickel Using Electrodeposition Technique as Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Electrolyte'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this