Electrochemical Performance of a Hybrid NiCo 2 O 4 @NiFelt Electrode at Different Operating Temperatures and Electrolyte pH

Ataollah Niyati, Arianna Moranda (), Pouya Beigzadeh Arough, Federico Maria Navarra and Ombretta Paladino ()
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Ataollah Niyati: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa (UNIGE-DICCA), Via All’Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy
Arianna Moranda: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa (UNIGE-DICCA), Via All’Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy
Pouya Beigzadeh Arough: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa (UNIGE-DICCA), Via All’Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy
Federico Maria Navarra: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa (UNIGE-DICCA), Via All’Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy
Ombretta Paladino: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa (UNIGE-DICCA), Via All’Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: Transition metals such as nickel and cobalt as an alternative to Pt and Pd can be used for oxygen evolution reactions (OERs) and hydrogen production reactions (HERs) in alkaline environments, facilitating green hydrogen production as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. In this study, an NiCo 2 O 4 catalyst was produced by a sono-hydrothermal method using urea as a hydrolysis agent. The electrochemical performance of the catalyst-coated NiFelt electrode was evaluated at different KOH concentrations (0.25, 0.5, and 1 M) and four operating temperatures in the interval of 20–80 °C. The electrode characteristics were investigated via electrochemical spectroscopy (cyclic voltammetry, EIS, multistep chronopotentiometry, multistep chronoamperometry) using two different reference electrodes (Ag/AgCl and Hg/HgO), to obtain insight into the anodic and cathodic peaks. XRD, SEM, EDS, and TEM analyses confirmed the purity, structure, and nanoscale particle size (20–45 nm) of the NiCo 2 O 4 catalyst. The electrode showed symmetric CV with Ag/AgCl, making this reference electrode more appropriate for capacitance measurements, while Hg/HgO proved advantageous for EIS in alkaline solutions due to reduced noise. The overpotential of the catalyst-coated NiFelt decreased by 108 mV at 10 mA/cm 2 compared to bare NiFelt, showing a good potential for its application in anion exchange membranes and alkaline electrolyzers at an industrial scale.

Keywords: alkaline electrolyzers; AEM electrolyzers; transition metals; electrocatalyst; Ni–Co metal oxide; sono-hydrothermal; OER; HER (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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