Investigation of Gas Evolution on Nickel Wire Electrodes During Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Junxu Liu, Jingxin Zeng, Yuhang An, Yuanyuan Duan and Qiang Song ()
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Junxu Liu: Key Laboratory of Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Jingxin Zeng: Key Laboratory of Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yuhang An: Key Laboratory of Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yuanyuan Duan: Key Laboratory of Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Qiang Song: Key Laboratory of Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-15

Abstract: The pursuit of higher current densities and device miniaturization intensifies gas evolution in alkaline water electrolysis, thereby reducing catalyst utilization and degrading system performance. In this work, a visualized alkaline electrolysis system was developed to investigate bubble dynamics on vertically oriented nickel wire electrodes. High-speed imaging coupled with a Yolov8 deep learning model enabled quantitative analysis of oxygen evolution behavior, revealing distinct bubble evolution modes such as isolated growth and coalescence. Systematic experiments demonstrated that current density, electrode diameter, and KOH concentration exert significant influences on bubble size distribution. Further correlation with electrochemical performance showed that increases in bubble population and size result in higher overpotentials, while bubble volume exhibits a strong linear relationship with the system’s ohmic resistance. These findings provide mechanistic insights into the coupling between bubble evolution and electrochemical performance, offering guidance for the design of efficient alkaline electrolyzers.

Keywords: alkaline water electrolysis; bubble recognition; gas evolution; oxygen evolution reaction (OER) (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: 2025
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